German towns to test self-driving cars

Five German towns, Hamburg, Munich, Ingolstadt, Düsseldorf, Dresden and Braunschweig are to become testing grounds for self-driving cars, Minister for Transport Alexander Dobrindt has told tabloid Bild am Sonntag. Dobrindt made the announcement at the start of a funding programme for automated driving, for which the Ministry of Transport will provide US$89 million (€80 million) in funds towards a research project by 2020. He said: “Automated driving systems are gradually taking effect. Automated braki
August 10, 2016 Read time: 1 min
Five German towns, Hamburg, Munich, Ingolstadt, Düsseldorf, Dresden and Braunschweig are to become testing grounds for self-driving cars, Minister for Transport Alexander Dobrindt has told tabloid Bild am Sonntag.

Dobrindt made the announcement at the start of a funding programme for automated driving, for which the Ministry of Transport will provide US$89 million (€80 million) in funds towards a research project by 2020.

He said: “Automated driving systems are gradually taking effect. Automated braking assistants and digital driving are already reality. In five years, we will have standard highly-automated systems that steer our cars digitally along the motorway.”

During the pilot phase, tests will determine whether self-driving cars recognise traffic lights, crossroads and other obstacles in road traffic. So far, self-driving cars have been tested mainly on motorways in less complex conditions.
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