Volvo calls for driverless cars in Oz by 2021

Volvo Car Australia has told a NSW parliamentary inquiry that self-driving cars could be on sale in NSW within five years if local road laws are changed.

Appearing today before the NSW Staysafe Committee’s public inquiry into driverless cars and road safety, Volvo said that fully autonomous vehicles could be on sale – and safely driven on selected roads like the M5 and M7 – by 2021.

The Swedish car-maker has called on the state government to conduct a trial of self-driving vehicles – which can accelerate, brake and steer themselves without driver intervention -- in Sydney before 2021, as part of an effort to address traffic congestion in Australia’s largest city.

“Volvo believes it is feasible to conduct a safe driverless car trial in Sydney on a connected road system like the M5, M7, M2 and M1,” said VCA managing director Kevin McCann.

“This would pave the way for changes to the road laws prior to self-driving cars going on sale in NSW. This is possible within five years if local roads laws are changed to accommodate the cars.

“Having self-driving cars on our major roads in Sydney is not science fiction. It’s reality, and it is approaching very fast. Volvo and other manufacturers have developed self-driving technology and safety features to a very advanced level.

“Major cities around the world like London and Los Angeles are planning for it right now. Sydney is Australia’s largest city with the most traffic, so it makes sense for the state government and transport agencies to start planning now for the technology that could be on our roads by 2021,” said McCann.

Volvo, which was a key player in the first limited trial of driverless cars in Adelaide last November, will next year conduct the world’s largest self-driving car trial in the Swedish city of Gothenburg involving up to 100 XC90s driven by ordinary motorists.

The Scandinavian car-maker's call follows a similar move by the NRMA, which this week released a report in which the club's chief Rohan Lund called on governments to begin autonomous vehicle trials, and even nominated suitable locations for self-driving cars to be tested, including Canberra, Sydney Olympic Park and Newcastle.

In the NRMA's report, called Accelerating our Smart Transport Future, Lund demands a review of bureaucratic departments to address Australia’s growing congestion crisis, which apart from large road projects and public transport infrastructure requires smart motorway technology like variable speed limits, ramp metering and variable message signage that allows real-time information to be posted.

The report claims self-driving vehicles could reduce road fatalities and injuries by up to 90 per cent and reduce congestion by reducing collisions and better using road space. It claims the benefits of autonomous vehicles which could add $235 billion to the global economy by 2023.

“Smarter mobility is the key, through autonomous vehicles, car and ride sharing and solving the parking crisis," said Lund in the NRMA report.

“This includes ensuring we have adequate nationwide broadband and telecommunications networks that driverless cars will require. It involves physical investment in infrastructure assets such as data sensors on roads, so that vehicles can interact with each other and their surroundings, and the acceleration of connectivity within and from our vehicles.

“The step to full autonomy in vehicles will be gradual. Moral panic will fade as we become more used to ceding more and more driving control – as we are today with cruise control and reverse parking – and as we have done with planes and trains."