Virginia Wants Your Self-Driving Cars

Nerval's Lobster writes: In a bid to help Google (and presumably other companies) test out their next-generation automobiles, the state of Virginia has reportedly opened up 70 miles of highway, overseen by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), to self-driving cars. Portions of Virginia's highways—most notably Interstates 95 and 495—are notoriously congested, which could present any self-driving vehicles with a real challenge. The state government has stipulated that any automated car will need a human driver at the wheel to take over in case of malfunction or emergency. California, Nevada, and a handful of other states already have roadways reserved for autonomous-car use. As one Virginia state official acknowledged to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, opening public infrastructure to new technology is seen as a way to attract top tech talent and companies. (Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. are already widely viewed as a tech hub, powered to a large degree by federal money.)

Comments

too close to too many lawyers

[turkeydance]

there might be a lawsuit already filed.

So you don't have to click too far

[YrWrstNtmr]

The relevant roads are:
"portions of Interstates 95, 495 and 66 as well as on U.S. 29 and U.S. 50 that are being dubbed Virginia Automated Corridors."

Of course, that info was too complex to put in the summary.

Re:So you don't have to click too far

[StikyPad]

Yeah, it's really the perfect market since it's already inundated with driverless vehicles.

Re:Not a solution!

[ShanghaiBill]

Self driving cars are interesting, and in most cases safer than people driven cars but they do NOT fix the congestion problems.

That is not true. SDCs can drive much closer together, increasing the road carrying capacity. They also have faster response times, reducing the "accordion effect" as cars slow down and speed up repeatedly. They also may have more information about conditions ahead, so when traffic in front of them begins to speed up, they know if it is just going to slow down again, or whether this is really the end of the congestion and they should accelerate rapidly.

This does not take a PHD to prove.

At least one study showed that as few as 10% SDC will substantially reduce congestion.

Re:Not a solution!

[Ichijo]

Self driving cars...do NOT fix the congestion problems.

That is not true. SDCs can drive much closer together, increasing the road carrying capacity.

But because peak-hour traffic congestion rises to meet maximum capacity, increasing the road carrying capacity has no long-term effect on traffic congestion. Therefore, self-driving cars will not fix congestion problems.