Volvo's London driverless pilot gets support

The UK Managing Director of Transport Modelling company PTV, Paul Speirs, is welcoming Volvo's announcement of autonomous car trial in London, saying it's the 'perfect city' to really test the technology.

Volvo is to use families who will drive the vehicles on public roads, in the belief that they will allow traffic to move more smoothly, reduce traffic jams and cut emissions and associated pollution.

PTV software analyses and predicts transport movement in cities around the world and is used extensively by Transport for London.

Speirs (pictured) says, 'London is perfect for testing the technology because it has a mix of roads from new highways to thousand-year-old thoroughfares.  Driving in London is a skill in itself so any vehicle which can self-drive there can do it anywhere.  Our simulations and predictions model the benefits and challenges such innovations will bring, so can be used to advise on the steps required for a transition to wide use of the technology.  PTV's solution enables automotive manufacturers to take responsibility, because testing is crucial to guarantee safety on our streets and to encourage this trend.  Already researchers have used our software to predict that a shared economy involving driverless cars could hugely reduce the amount of vehicles on our roads and Volvo's trial is the next step in turning this from a possibility to a reality."