[msb-alumni] Re: I-80 Ohio Toll Road May be Next Test for Self-Driving Cars

From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel@xxxxxxx>
To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2016 23:10:40 -0400

Hi,

Great article, again. Thanks.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

From: msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Steve
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2016 5:41 PM
To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [msb-alumni] I-80 Ohio Toll Road May be Next Test for Self-Driving
Cars

I-80 Ohio Toll Road May be Next Test for Self-Driving Cars

TOLEDO, Ohio Ohio's toll road, a heavily traveled connector between the East
Coast and Chicago, is moving closer to allowing the testing of self-driving
vehicles. Testing is likely to begin within 12 months, and possibly before
the end of the year, the Ohio Turnpike's executive director told the
Associated Press.

Officials overseeing the roadway have spent more than a year looking at the
possibilities, said Randy Cole, the turnpike's director. Ohio is among
several states competing to play a role in the testing and research of
autonomous vehicles, which is advancing at light speed.

Ride-hailing service Uber said Thursday that it will start hauling
passengers in self-driving cars with human backup drivers on the streets of
Pittsburgh within the next several weeks.

Much of the testing, up to now, has been in California along with a handful
of Western U.S. states and on closed courses, such as one operated by the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. More testing is needed in new places
and where there's snow and ice, Cole said. "It's got to start happening on
real roads," he said in an interview this week. "That's part of getting the
consumer confidence."

The Ohio Turnpike, which takes Interstate 80 across northern Ohio and links
Youngstown, Cleveland and Toledo, is set up well for testing autonomous
vehicles, he said. It is relatively straight and flat with three lanes in
each direction, wider lane markings and space for maintenance and support
crews, Cole said. And the 241-mile highway is less congested than other
interstates in Ohio and already has a fiber network along the entire
roadway, he said. Fiber optic lines aren't necessary for self-driving
vehicles that rely on their own GPS systems. But they could allow vehicles
connected to the network to relay information back-and-forth such as road
conditions or help collect testing data, said Jim Barna, an assistant
director with the Ohio Department of Transportation. "That's where the fiber
optics may come into play," he said.

The U.S. Transportation Department has said it will propose federal
government guidelines for self-driving vehicles later this year. States also
are grappling with how to regulate the technology. Just a handful including
Nevada, California, Michigan and Florida have approved guidelines for
testing.

Because Ohio's toll road has its own governing authority, it can more easily
allow the testing, Cole said. "We will make sure any vehicle testing is as
safe, or safer, than any other vehicle on the road," he said. "It shouldn't
scare people."

Cole said he sees more opportunities right now coming with the trucking
industry.

One possibility already being tested in Europe is called platooning a
tractor-trailer with a driver that's linked to a self-driving
truck following closely behind. Lowering freight costs will help the state's
manufacturing industries and could create new jobs, Cole said. "This is part
of Ohio's future," he said.

Republican Gov. John Kasich has been pushing state agencies to take a
leading role in the rapidly growing development of self-driving
autos. The state's highway department is working on creating another testing
area along a divided highway northwest of Columbus. It's planning to install
a fiber optic cable as soon as next spring on a stretch of U.S. 33, Barna
said. The state's largest city, Columbus, won a $40 million federal grant
this
summer to put new transportation technologies, including self-driving cars
and connected vehicles, into use.

References:
- [msb-alumni] I-80 Ohio Toll Road May be Next Test for Self-Driving Cars
  - From: Steve

[msb-alumni] Re: I-80 Ohio Toll Road May be Next Test for Self-Driving Cars

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