The Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) initiative has been launched in the UK with the intention of building public confidence in self-driving technology through education and support for the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles on public roads.
The initiative was launched by the University of Warwick with founding partners from the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Transport, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Transport for West Midlands.
Anthony Browne MP (technology and decarbonisation minister) and professor Sarah Sharples (chief scientific adviser at the Department for Transport) spoke on the announcement at the Royal Automobile Club, where the initiative was officially launched.
Browne said:
“Self-driving vehicles have the potential to transform our transport sector, and PAVE UK will be a big part of this by raising awareness and embedding confidence in people throughout the country. In the meantime, we’re making sure that these vehicles are safe to use on our roads.“Our Automated Vehicles Bill sets a rigorous standard for safety, while making sure that this country is where businesses can develop and deploy their cutting-edge technology.”
The Automated Vehicles Bill was announced in the King’s Speech in November and initiated the authorisation of level 4 self-driving vehicles to be valid for use on British roads.
PAVE UK have claimed they will work closely with the whole UK Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) ecosystem to carry out educational programs, such as research materials packs, school outreach activities, community outreach, an online video library, webinars and an online educational app.
Professor Siddartha Khastgir, head of verification and validation at WMG, said:
“PAVE UK will translate technical information into clear, comprehensive and accurate messaging to help communicate safety to the public in an inclusive and accessible manner.”
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