Ministers have
approved the large-scale testing of self-driving cars and trucks on public
roads in the Netherlands arguing the technology could cut jams, improve road
safety and reduce pollution.
The cabinet wants the Netherlands to take a
‘leading role’ in the development of self-driving cars and systems to allow
vehicles to communicate with each other, the infrastructure ministry said in a
statement.
Large scale testing is planned to start in the summer, if parliament
approves changes to current legislation, a ministry spokeswoman told news
agency AFP.
Last November, infrastructure minister Melanie Schultz kicked off
the first Dutch test on a public road. Testing is currently largely confined to
private roads because of legal restrictions.
The Dutch system does not involve
doing away with drivers altogether, but with getting cars to work together
instead.
‘Vehicles which communicate with each other and accelerate or break in
unison will contribute to smoother traffic flow,’ the ministry statement said.
‘The vehicles can travel more closely together and use the available road space
more efficiently.’
A number of companies and institutes have already expressed
an interest in taking part in the trials, the ministry said. For example, the
TNO research institute is working with DAF, Rotterdam’s port authority and the
transport industry lobby group TLN to develop self-driving lorries.
A number of
other trials of self-driving cars are underway worldwide. Google, for example,
is working on its own robot car project, unveiling a prototype at the end of
last year.
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