Driver’s licence test should include Level 3 tech, says Audi

New drivers should have to demonstrate they understand and can operate the various new autonomous driving technologies being built into cars before they get their licence, according to Audi Australia.

While Level 3 (hands-off) autonomous driving is not yet legal in Australia, the technologies that allow it already exist in many new vehicles, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping and dynamic cruise control.

But the approach of Level 3 vehicle autonomy will require drivers to be familiar with those systems before they hand over control to the car, says Audi Australia product pricing and planning director Shawn Ticehurst.

“That next step towards Level 3 autonomous vehicles is a leap -- and arguably the biggest one we have ever made in the automotive industry in recent years,” Ticehurst told the Future of Mobility Summit in Melbourne this week.

He said introducing a scenario where the driver may not always be in control would change one of the fundamental rules around the way we use our roads.

Such a big change in how roads are used will bring with it a major education task to ensure that everyone – governments, manufacturers, drivers – understands what is happening.

“When we get there [Level 3], we need to make sure the driver of the future is just as sure about who’s in control of the car and what its capabilities are and, equally importantly, what they aren’t capable of.”

Ticehurst said the driver’s level of understanding will likely have to be tested at the point where drivers obtain their driving licence.

“It’s incumbent on the companies introducing these technologies to offer a certain level of education, so it becomes an extremely important part of the vehicle handover process when the customer comes in to pick up their new car.”

Ticehurst said Audi is also altering the content of its Audi Driving Experience days, where traditionally drivers have gone to increase their driving skills and learn how to handle their car in dangerous and high-speed situations.

“We expand that now to include how to handle this technology. And then it starts to spread out into how a driving licence is obtained.

“The criteria to get a driving licence now needs to integrate that technology.”

Ticehurst was responding to a question from Carl Liersch, general manager at APV Engineering and Testing Services, who said he knew a number of people who refuse even to try the new technologies because they don’t quite understand it or it’s not intuitive enough.

“How do you propose we engage all those people?” he asked a panel of speakers.

Ben Warren, Nissan Australia’s national manager of electrification and mobility cited an example of how difficult it can be to introduce new technology.

“When they first showed the escalator at a World’s Fair [Paris, 1900], what they had to do was to pay actors to stand on the escalator and ride it because everyone looked at it and didn’t really know what to do with it.

“Then, through that demonstration/education process, people decided to jump on and have a go and naturally, now, we don’t like to use the stairs, we like to ride the escalator.”

Trent McNeil, an advanced driver assistance systems engineer at Ford Australia, agreed that education was an important part of introducing the new technologies.

“Day one, you’ve picked up your new car, it’s all shiny, you’re all emotional about it, then the big reveal and you go home and you never use the advanced features again and don’t remember much from the 30-second sales pitch.

“I have this question a lot, where people just don’t trust the technology. I think it is all about educating people on why these things are there, how they are going to help, what benefits there are.”

Toyota Australia’s manager of future technologies and mobility, Matthew Macleod, said the company had just built a driving course at its Altona site so that it can educate those employees who have to drive for a living.

“We allow our employees to gain experience on how to drive their lease cars. Ten or 20 at a time can go onto the course under supervision and test out the safety elements on their cars.

“They can test the cruise control, they can test stability control, they can test the autonomous braking system, all the safety systems of the car,” he said.

“We actually do the same thing through our dealers with the customers, explaining the safety features like adaptive cruise control and lane control, what all those safety systems are.”

Ticehurst said Audi has already enhanced its buyer handover process to help customers become familiar with the technology.

“Handing over a new car is a lot more complex these days. We do ask our dealers to do more in that area than they have in the past.

“We encourage everyone to do what we call the second handover. We get the customer back a week later or two weeks later, when they are starting to get a bit more familiar with the vehicle, to answer questions like what does this button do? And how does that feature actually work?

“That becomes an important part of the process that we can control.”