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

From: "Chris Rasmussen" <chrisnzella@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2016 15:18:03 -0400

BlankI’d like to see them “test” the self driving car on the busy street near
us here in Kalamazoo.
“South Westnedge” is awful traffic wise. You are taking your life in your hands
if you try to cross the street even at a light. People are so impatient and you
are nothing but a target in my opinion.

Chris Rasmussen

From: Steve
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2016 5:40 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.

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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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