Autonomous mobility expert Dr Nick Reed, founder of Reed Mobility, has issued a response to the publication by the the London Assembly Transport Committee of a report on the introduction of automated passenger vehicles in the capital,
“I was pleased to contribute written evidence to the inquiry and to participate in one of the panel sessions alongside Glenn Lyons, Jack Stilgoe and Thomas Ableman,” he said.
“The report raises important questions about how the impact of AVs should align with city objectives. As shared in Waymo’s recent Vision for London document, there is huge potential but this must be shaped correctly if it is to realised. This is something I have been working in my time as chair of the FISITA Automated Driving Expert Group – more on that to come! As I suggested in my evidence to the Committee, we should be setting out how we want the city to behave and then seeing how this new technology can help us achieve those outcomes rather than taking what we are given.”
Posting on LinkedIn Dr Reed added:
“I also welcome the recommendations for greater transparency around AV safety performance, including reporting of crashes, near miss and the vehicle decision-making processes that contributed to them. It is also good to see the recognition that interaction with the emergency services will be an important aspect of success for AVs.
“Congratulations to the Committee on a thought-provoking report. I look forward to seeing how its recommendations inform the safe, successful integration of AVs into the London mobility system.”
Speaking to Highways News, Dr Reed said:
“I have always been hugely positive about the potential for automated vehicles to offer safe, efficient, accessible mobility. With commercial deployments of AVs on the horizon, we have to ensure that they serve these wider objectives to improve mobility for all.
“I’m sure that AV developers share these ambitions so it is now about promoting constructive dialogue with local and national regulators about the genuine opportunities and limitations associated with this technology and creating the conditions where AVs deliver safe mobility options aligned to the needs of city residents, visitors and businesses.”
(Picture: Olga Gonzalez)
