Virginia’s transportation board is expected to vote Wednesday to clear the way for testing of self-driving cars on interstates 95 and 495 express lanes.
Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said the tests, a cooperative endeavor that involves the state, the Federal Highway Administration and Transurban, the company that manages the express lanes, fits with the type of technological innovation the Commonwealth Transportation Board seeks to foster in Virginia.
The testing program, which will begin before the end of the year, Layne said, will examine speed harmonization to improve congestion, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, how the vehicles function alongside traditional cars, and whether they can be operated as “platoons” to increase road capacity, among other facets of the emerging technology.
The express lanes, also called High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, are an ideal proving ground because of the technology they employ to track traffic flow.
“These are some of the smartest roads in the country,” Layne said. “The technology exists in the road to help communicate with the car.”
Charlie Kilpatrick, VDOT’s commissioner of highways, told the board at its Tuesday workshop meeting that the testing program is a “great opportunity” for Virginia to be the venue for applying “real-world scenarios” for autonomous cars, which the Federal Highway Administration says offer the promise of better safety, less congestion, lower emissions and less wasted fuel and time.
Layne said the tests will start with the roughly hour and a half window twice a day when the lanes are closed to switch the direction of traffic flow. Later, the self-driving cars will be merged onto the road with regular traffic.
Having the tests here gives the state the advantage of gathering first-hand information on how the vehicles function on managed and general purpose highway lanes as well as displaying that “Virginia is a welcoming place to do business” for the automakers and other companies that will be conducting the testing, he added.
“We just wanted to be seen as a place where they had the opportunity to be able to do that,” Layne said.
The express lanes, also called High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, are an ideal proving ground because of the technology they employ to track traffic flow.
“These are some of the smartest roads in the country,” Layne said. “The technology exists in the road to help communicate with the car.”
Charlie Kilpatrick, VDOT’s commissioner of highways, told the board at its Tuesday workshop meeting that the testing program is a “great opportunity” for Virginia to be the venue for applying “real-world scenarios” for autonomous cars, which the Federal Highway Administration says offer the promise of better safety, less congestion, lower emissions and less wasted fuel and time.
Layne said the tests will start with the roughly hour and a half window twice a day when the lanes are closed to switch the direction of traffic flow. Later, the self-driving cars will be merged onto the road with regular traffic.
Having the tests here gives the state the advantage of gathering first-hand information on how the vehicles function on managed and general purpose highway lanes as well as displaying that “Virginia is a welcoming place to do business” for the automakers and other companies that will be conducting the testing, he added.
“We just wanted to be seen as a place where they had the opportunity to be able to do that,” Layne said.
Virginia law requires that there be an operator in the vehicle while the testing is taking place.
