Science & Tech · Gadgets & EVs · 3 hrs ago
Hwaseong tests self-driving cars in eight public services
In Hwaseong, South Korea, a self-driving shared car is being tested on public roads as part of a government and city project.
The car can be booked for trips between 40 registered destinations, but a safety driver rides along and can take control.
On a test ride, the car drove smoothly and followed the speed limit, but it struggled to change lanes in busy traffic and briefly held up cars behind it.
The safety driver took over when needed, including to move the car into another lane.
At one junction, the car stopped after the light turned yellow, but its braking carried it about 1.5 metres beyond the stop line.
The trial is part of a test of eight self-driving public services, including transport for people with mobility needs, buses and road-safety patrols.
The trials will continue through the end of next year as the services are tested in real conditions.
Hwaseong is testing autonomous vehicles in eight public services in the Namyang-eup area.
The trials began rolling out in the first half of this year and will continue until the end of next year.
The services include an autonomous shared car, transport for people with limited mobility, and an autonomous bus.
A Yonhap reporter who rode in the shared car found its ride comfortable but said it could be slow and struggle to change lanes.
A safety driver rode in the car and took control when needed.
- Who
- The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Hwaseong City are among those involved in the trials.
- What
- Autonomous vehicles are being tested in eight public services.
- When
- The trials began in the first half of this year and are scheduled to run until the end of next year.
- Where
- The trials are taking place in the Namyang-eup area of Hwaseong, including routes in Namyang-eup and Saesol-dong.
- Why
- The living lab is testing autonomous-driving technology developed through a multi-agency research and development project on real roads and in public services.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Autonomous vehicles began entering the eight public services in stages.
A Yonhap reporter rode in the autonomous shared car in Hwaseong.
The public-service trials are scheduled to continue until this time.
- Public services
- 8
- Trial area
- Namyang-eup, Hwaseong
- Shared-car participants
- 20 pre-recruited citizen testers
- Registered destinations
- 40 in Namyang-eup and Saesol-dong
- Shared-car speed limit
- 50 km/h on the road described by Yonhap
1 source
What people are saying
I intervene in driving only when necessary for safety, but just now there could have been a rear-end collision, and if traffic disruption continued there could have been complaints from other drivers, so I intervened.
If I drive for about an hour, I think I touch the steering wheel about once every 20 minutes.