Dutch are most ready for AVs - but bikes are an obstacle, says KPMG

The Netherlands is the number one country in terms of readiness to deploy autonomous vehicles (AVs) – except for one small problem: bicycles. People on two wheels - in this notoriously bike-friendly country - pose a problem for the deployment of AVs in built-up areas, according to research by KPMG. “We have a lot of bicycles,” says Stijn de Groen, manager digital advisory, automotive, at KPMG in the Netherlands. “In urban, crowded areas it will be very difficult to start autonomous driving.” Leavin
February 14, 2019 Read time: 3 mins

The Netherlands is the number one country in terms of readiness to deploy autonomous vehicles (AVs) – except for one small problem: bicycles.

People on two wheels - in this notoriously bike-friendly country - pose a problem for the deployment of AVs in built-up areas, according to research by 1981 KPMG.

“We have a lot of bicycles,” says Stijn de Groen, manager digital advisory, automotive, at KPMG in the Netherlands. “In urban, crowded areas it will be very difficult to start autonomous driving.”

Leaving the bikes issue aside, KPMG %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external ranked false https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2019/02/2019-autonomous-vehicles-readiness-index.pdf false false%> the Netherlands in top position out of 25 countries listed in its Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index (AVRI) for a second consecutive year.

The top ranking comes following the Dutch government’s work with neighbouring countries to adopt AV technology for freight.

In March 2018, Dutch infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen announced plans to launch platoons of more than 100 driverless trucks on major routes from Amsterdam to Antwerp in Belgium as well as from Rotterdam to the Ruhr Valley in Germany.

Second place in KPMG’s study goes to Singapore, which was chosen for creating a test town for driverless vehicles at Nanyang Technological University. The ‘town’ includes traffic lights, bus stops, skyscrapers and a rain machine which recreates wet and tropical weather.

Norway is one of five new entrants in this year’s AVRI ranking. The country came third for legalising AV testing on public roads as well as allowing operators to start small-scale autonomous bus services.

Other countries making their debut in the AVRI index include Finland (6), Israel (14), Czech Republic (19) and Hungary (21).

The UK came seventh and is described as lagging behind other countries in its quality of roads, 4G coverage, global connectivity and logistics infrastructure.
 
Rabih Arzouni, chief technology officer, transport sector, at 5163 Fujitsu EMEIA, says consideration needs to be given to adapting the current infrastructure to accommodate a proliferation of data.

He emphasises the need for hyper-connectivity at the roadside through either new fibre-optics or improved cellular communications.

“Through this approach specifically, messages can be transmitted to dashboards to improve road efficiency, whilst connected vehicles can be programmed to spot potholes and communicate with road operators,” Arzouni adds.

KPMG has also conducted a consumer opinion research project to better understand consumer sentiment on AVs. It revealed that countries with lower rankings such as Mexico (23) and India (24) are most interested in the technology.

Related Content

  • Falling asleep in an AV… but what happens next?
    September 18, 2019
    Sleeping while a driverless car speeds you to your destination has long been touted as the dream of the new technology – and something of a nightmare for safety campaigners. A new video from the BBC shows exactly what happens if a driver falls asleep in an autonomous vehicle (AV). In the filmed test, the AV prompts the driver to resume control when approaching roadworks on a motorway. When the driver fails to act, the vehicle comes to a halt and automatically parks in a lay-by. Motor industry research
    Read More
  • AVs could make driving ‘more dangerous’: report
    May 23, 2018
    Automated vehicles (AVs) could make driving more dangerous – that is the stark suggestion from a new report by the International Transport Forum (ITF). The report - Safer Roads with Automated Vehicles? – casts doubt on claims that 90% of road deaths could be avoided because the introduction of AVs would eliminate human error. ITF says such claims are at best “untested”.
    Read More
  • Volkswagen tests Level 4 AVs in Hamburg
    April 17, 2019
    Volkswagen Research is testing autonomous vehicles (AVs) at SAE Level 4 in real driving conditions in the German city of Hamburg. The announcement comes as the fall-out from VW’s ‘Dieselgate’ nightmare – when the company was found to have programmed turbocharged direct injection diesel engines to activate their emissions controls for laboratory tests - putters on. This week the company’s former chief executive Martin Winterkorn was charged with fraud for his involvement. But VW has admitted that the scan
    Read More
  • No need for safety drivers in AVs, says UK government
    February 7, 2019
    The UK government has signalled that it is ready to allow autonomous vehicles (AVs) with no driver to be tested on public roads. It is already committed to having fully self-driving vehicles on UK roads by 2021. At present, operators are legally required to test AVs only when “a driver is present, in or out of the vehicle, who is ready, able, and willing to resume control of the vehicle”. But the Department for Transport (DfT)’s updated code of practice on trialling AVs on public roads - as opposed t
    Read More

Highlighted Content