Illinois to Develop Testing Program for Self-driving Vehicles

State of Illinois two develop testing program for self-driving vehicles

Article link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-biz-illinois-self-driving-vehicles-201
81025-story.html

October 25, 2018, 4:55 PM
Illinois is taking the first step toward putting self-driving vehicles on
the road, but it may be some time before they get there.

Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday signed an executive order creating the
Autonomous Illinois Initiative, which sets guidelines for testing the
technology and sharing information between developers, researchers and state
agencies. Testing of autonomous vehicles will require a driver to remain
behind the wheel, capable of taking control of the vehicle at all times,
according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

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“This is what we’ve been waiting for – some direction from the state,” said
Roman Kuropas, CEO and founder of Burr Ridge-based Innova Ev, which is
testing self-driving vehicles at Ohio State University. “We want to be able
to do it in our own backyard,” said Kuropas, whose company uses small golf
cart-like electric vehicles for ride-sharing.

Illinois State Police, the Illinois Tollway, the Department of Insurance,
and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will assist with the
program. The state will connect communities that want to host testing with
companies, universities and research institutions.

Since human error is behind more than 90 percent of fatal wrecks, the use of
autonomous vehicles could save lives, IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said.
“If you take that driver out of the equation, you’re looking at a safer
system,” he said at a news conference in a parking lot at Guaranteed Rate
Field.

There are numerous questions about autonomous technology that still need to
be resolved. One problem is that drivers assigned to be behind the wheel of
self-driving vehicles tend to get bored, so they may not react quickly to an
emergency, according to technology experts.

The state currently is working with Northwestern University and the
University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses on a test
track for autonomous vehicles in downstate Rantoul, about 15 miles north of
Champaign.

Pennsylvania, Arizona and California already are testing autonomous
vehicles. Last spring, Uber Technologies stopped its self-driving car
operation in Arizona after a pedestrian was killed in a crash involving one
of its cars.

mwisniewski

Twitter @marywizchicago

Ray Campbell
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