And the autonomous car gives way to?

A new autonomous driving research project may help reduce the number of accidents at New Zealand roundabouts in the future, according to a local spokesperson. Ministry of Transport statistics show around nine percent of all accidents involving injuries at intersections in New Zealand occur at roundabouts. A multi-million-dollar project in the UK called Autoplex, is designed to develop vehicles to see around corners and through obstacles – improving the capability of self-driving cars. This will enable automated cars to communicate with all road users and obstacles where there is no direct view – effectively helping them see – so they can safely merge lanes and negotiate complex roundabouts autonomously. Jaguar Land Rover general manager Steve Kenchington says the technology may help prevent accidents at roundabouts in this country by combining connected, automated and live mapping technology to allow self-driving cars to ‘see’ and ‘talk to’ each other. “Someone is killed or seriously injured on a roundabout almost every day in New Zealand. “The self-driving technology being researched will help make navigating this type of intersection a lot safer for all road users. “The fact that this is being developed in the UK is significant, as in many ways New Zealand has more similar driving conditions to that market as compared to USA where selfdriving technology is also being researched,” he says. Kenchington says there is about one roundabout for every 127 intersections in the UK, but only about one for every 1118 intersections in the USA. Jaguar Land Rover is leading the Autoplex project to combine connected, automated and live mapping tech so more information is provided earlier to the self-driving car. He says the car maker is developing fully- and semiautomated vehicle technologies, offering customers a choice of an engaged or automated drive, while maintaining an enjoyable and safe driving experience.