First self-drive vehicle demonstration made on NZ roads

The country’s first official demonstration of an autonomous vehicle using New Zealand roads was made today, Friday November 18.

On Thursday EVtalk that the New Zealand Traffic Institute (Trafinz), Volvo, New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the Ministry of Transport have come together to show how a self-driving vehicle will safely handle New Zealand’s road conditions.

Car manufacturer Volvo will demonstrate the technology on a 10-15km stretch of public road in Tauranga as part of the New Zealand Traffic Institute’s (Trafinz) transportation conference.

Transport minister Simon Bridges will be one of the car’s passengers.

Volvo Cars NZ general manager Coby Duggan says the vehicle will self-drive using sophisticated technology to navigate the road – with driver interaction only required to periodically confirm the presence of the driver.

He says during the demonstration the technology will operate at ‘level 2’ – a global standard which measures the degree of the vehicle’s autonomy.

“Under level 2 or Partial Automation, the automated system executes accelerating, braking, and steering, however the driver will be required to interact with the vehicle and intervene if necessary.”

By 2021 the company expects to be at level 4 or High Automation where the system will monitor the driving environment and will maintain control even if the driver does not intervene when advised by the vehicle, he says.

The next stage of evolution from there is level 5 or Full Automation, by then the car has complete control under all conditions, relieving the driver of responsibility.

John Goettler the Vice President of the New Zealand Local Authority Traffic Institute (Trafinz) says the technology has real applications for the future of transport within the New Zealand roading network.

“This demonstration is a significant first milestone towards the introduction of self-drive vehicles to enhance road safety, efficiency and productivity in New Zealand.”

He says New Zealand is an ideal location for the demonstration of self-driving technology because of our world-leading regulatory environment, which encourages trialling of new technology such as autonomous vehicles, while protecting the safety of all road users.