EastLink trials hands-free driving through its tunnels

EastLink (EL) has conducted a hands-free driving demonstration through its freeway tunnels using Honda Civic VTi-LX’s lane keep assist function. The trial, closed to traffic, aimed to help Victorian motorists understand the technology and other driver assistance functions after the Annual Victorian Self-Driving Survey revealed more than half of the 15,000 of the respondents had very little or no awareness of self-driving cars.
December 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
EastLink (EL) has conducted a hands-free driving demonstration through its freeway tunnels using 1683 Honda Civic 5230 VTi-LX’s lane keep assist function. The trial, closed to traffic, aimed to help Victorian motorists understand the technology and other driver assistance functions after the Annual Victorian Self-Driving Survey revealed more than half of the 15,000 respondents had very little or no awareness of self-driving cars.

EL chose the Honda following recent trials in which it tested automated vehicle technologies alongside partners 4728 VicRoads, the Australian Road Research Board, La Trobe University and RACV.

The Honda Civic VTi-LX is available for less than $40,000 (£29,000) and includes the Honda Sensing package. It has a range of driver assistance functions such as lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, collision mitigation braking, forward collision warning, lane departure warning and road departure mitigation.

The demonstration will be broadcast in a television news report by 7 News Melbourne at 6pm on Monday 4 December.
Doug Spencer-Roy, EL, corporate affairs and marketing manager, said: “The Honda Civic steered itself using lane keep assist mode along EastLink and through the EastLink tunnels at speeds up to 80km/h, while the driver was not holding the steering wheel.


The Honda Civic lane keep assist function was not affected by changing light conditions during the demonstration, such as the transitions into and out of each tunnel portal.”

“The demonstration showed that driver assistance functions in cars are rapidly increasing in quality and availability, which is paving the way for motorists to experience hands-free driving on freeways in the coming years (subject to legislative changes),” Roy added.

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Visible road markings: an essential for older drivers and intelligent vehicles
    March 20, 2015
    The RAINVISION project, co-financed by the European Commission, recently held its final meeting. Over the past three years, the project has researched the impact of road markings on driver behaviour under different night weather conditions (dry, wet and wet and rainy) and has assessed how different age groups and gender groups adapt their driving based on the above mentioned conditions. The results of the project were presented and in particular, the outcomes of three different trials conducted over the pro
    Read More
  • Scania and Nobina to trial autonomous buses in Stockholm
    February 22, 2019
    Scania has joined forces with public transport operator Nobina to trial autonomous buses on public roads in Stockholm. Two Scania Citywide LF electric buses will operate in the Barkaby area of the Swedish capital, around 20km from the centre. Both buses will operate along a dedicated 5km route with four stops. , Initially, they will be run in autonomous mode without passengers for a distance of 1km, while second stage tests are expected to carry up to 300 commuters per day. A safety driver will remai
    Read More
  • Investments in autonomous driving are accelerating, says report
    January 7, 2015
    Google and various automakers have increased their activity and investments toward the goal of self-driving vehicles, while Google has shifted from its previous strategy to now focus on fully driverless vehicles for the future. If successful, it will have significant implications for the auto industry, according to IHS Automotive, based on findings in its new report, Autonomous Driving: Question is When, Not If, which is an update to a previous report issued early in 2014. OEMs remain geared toward aug
    Read More
  • US regulator ‘paves the way for Google’s self-driving car’
    February 11, 2016
    A letter to Google, the US federal transport regulator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), appears to pave the way for self-driving cars, but adds the proviso that the rule-making could take some time. Google had requested clarification of a number of provisions in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) as they apply to Google’s described design for self-driving vehicles (SDVs). “If no human occupant of the vehicle can actually drive the vehicle, it is more reasonable
    Read More

Highlighted Content