The U.S. Department of Transportation has selected the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids corridor as one of its 10 “proving ground” sites for driverless cars. Tom Banta is director of strategic growth with the Iowa City Area Development Group. He says eastern Iowa was chosen by the DOT because of local government support for research.
(as said) “A couple years ago, Johnson County and also Linn County passed legislation allowing for testing of automated vehicles on our roads and highways. We were one of the first counties in the country to pass that legislation,” Banta said. The presence of the National Advanced Driving Simulator at the University of Iowa also helped sway site selectors.
(as said) “There are really only one or two of those in the world, so that was definitely a unique asset we had in place,” Banta said. Automated vehicle testing in Iowa is expected to begin by the end of the year. Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids and the Iowa Speedway in Newton may also be used for testing, as will an old runway at Iowa City Airport. The computerized vehicles will be equipped with HD maps that will constantly update their surroundings and road conditions. Researchers with the DOT note roughly 94 percent of crashes are tied to some type of driver error or choice, while driverless cars have the potential to reduce crashes by more than 80 percent.
(Reporting by Rob Dillard, Iowa Public Radio)
