Tom Powell
SPANISH drivers dreaming of road trips where cars do all the work may have to wait.
An engineer with German car giants Bosch says Spain needs to invest at least €3 billion in its infrastructure before introducing driverless cars.
Maria Belen Aranda Colas told a Madrid conference that huge sums are needed to update road signs so cars can anticipate diversions or closures.
Arguably, it’s worth it: “An 80% average improvement could be achieved in traffic, and drivers could recover nearly one hour which they lose each day driving their current cars,” said Colas.
The Spanish engineer said extra funds would also be needed to update and maintain the signs each year.
In November, a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso became the first driverless car tested in Spain, travelling 373 miles on motorways from Vigo to Madrid.
€3 Billion to update Spanish roads? Peanuts! Singapore could gain £20 Billion a year by switching to completely driverless roads.
3 billion you say!
ok, i thought about it and… No! just no. you can keep your driverless cars, and i can keep my 3 billion. Everyone’s happy. (except the makers of driverless cars). In my defense i’ll argue that my 3 billion might be better spent on social improvements, fixing the economy, generating jobs, etc. Of course the car-makers will say they are more important.