Driverless cars just around the corner in Ireland

Automated driving is just around the corner, but are Irish roads ready for it?

All the world's major manufacturers are leapfrogging each other with technology that will eventually lead to autonomous driving.

Motor industry chiefs worldwide are urging governments to encourage partial and eventually full automatic vehicles with suitable infrastructure.

Many are seeing the benefits of crash avoidance software being rolled out around the world and these developments are relentlessly leading to full autonomy.

However, the law in most countries still makes no provision for autonomous cars, although Sweden has plans for 100 such vehicles on its roads this year. As it stands, the law in Ireland and the UK does not adequately cover the subject of fully autonomous vehicles.

The Department of Transport says new technology and infrastructure is being considered at EU level.

While there are no rules saying AD (Automatic Driving) cars are illegal per se, the driver remains responsible for control of the car at all times.

The Road Safety Authority says that national policy on AD vehicles will be drawn from recommendations by the European Commission.

The motor industry and insurance companies the world over are preparing for electric autonomy and are looking to governments to take the necessary action to prepare the legislation and infrastructure for fully autonomous vehicles.

Highly autonomous vehicles are capable of allowing drivers to hand over control for sections of a journey will be here in Ireland by 2021 so we need to be ready.

Independent research says AD vehicles could cut accidents by 30pc and even up to 90pc in some cases.

Most accidents as we know are caused by driver error or distraction, which would be virtually eliminated where AD was applied.

Computer controlled autonomous cars increase safety, cuts pollution and can even cut congestion on the roads with less time wasted stuck in traffic snarl-ups.

The motor sector looks to the future with safety and convenience in mind.

(As always, if you or a family member are considering buying a used car, don’t buy until you run a car check report with MyVehicle.ie where you will find out the true history of the vehicle.)

Author

Justin Kavanagh
Justin Kavanagh is a recognised leader in automotive intelligence and vehicle data supply to the entire motor industry. He has almost 20 years experience in building systems from the ground up. As the Managing Director of Vehicle Management System, he understands the need and importance of trustworthy and reliable vehicle history and advice to both the trade and the public.
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