Is the current Swedish road infrastructure ready for self-driving vehicles? If not, what interventions are needed? VTI‘s Johan Olstam had the chance to discuss these questions at the radio programme “Vetandes värld”, which aims to present research activities to the public. The interview was a good opportunity to present the objectives and the research currently being carried out in the framework of the CoEXist project.
According to a press release that was launched in connection with the publication of a proposed new regulation for self driving vehicles, the authorities and the public sector are too slow in preparing for self driving vehicles. The interview focused on the different challenges from a traffic planning and traffic performance point of view that self driving vehicles give rise to. An important question was also discussed: to mitigate the negative effects and boosting the positive effects of a gradual introduction of self-driving vehicles, should we make the infrastructure ready, or should we make the road authorities more aware of the potential threats and opportunities?
The radio program also included interviews with Hamid Zarghampour from the Swedish Transport Adminstration and Erk Levander from Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The full version (in Swedish) is available here.