Roads for the Future jury members’ have reacted to the shortlisted entries:
Sir John Armitt, Chair, National Infrastructure Commission
“The creativity and ingenuity of all the entries we received was very impressive, with many making the most of our existing network to prepare for these latest innovations. These five entries clearly stood out and I look forward to seeing how their ideas develop further over the coming months.”
Chris Holmes, Jaguar Land Rover Senior Manager, Autonomous & Connected Cars
“Autonomous car development is unlocking access to new customer experiences and improved safety for all road users. Autonomy promises to transform the way we travel and interact with the environment and represents an area of significant investment across industries. I was really impressed by the number, breadth and thinking behind the projects submitted and particularly commend the selected projects on their study areas and the benefits those may provide. I am looking forward to reviewing the output of their studies later in the year.”
Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Deputy Chair, Committee on Climate Change
“The development of increasingly autonomous vehicles which communicate with each other and the people and infrastructure around them offers some very exciting benefits –benefits as diverse as ridding our streets of the clutter of increasing numbers of traffic signs, making our streets safer for pedestrians and reducing dangerous emissions from vehicles in our cities. This competition is an important step towards delivering them.”
Professor Natasha Merat, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
“I was very impressed, and frankly overwhelmed, by the number of high quality applications for this competition. Considering the relatively small prize compared to large research grants, it was nice to see some great ideas being put forward by SMEs, public authorities and larger organisations alike. This shows the enthusiasm and drive for CAVs work in the UK, but also the obvious kudos attached to such a competition put forward by Commission. Competition was high, but in the end the winning entries offered that little bit extra by thinking a bit out of the box and providing the more innovative ideas in this space.”
Jim O’Sullivan, Chief Executive, Highways England
“The shortlisted entries covered everything from infrastructure changes through to apps, and showed an understanding of the changes to come and how we might get the best from them. Autonomous vehicles will make travel more affordable, more available and help to reduce the impact of road transportation on the environment. The UK has a huge opportunity to benefit in this market. We are already leading here and have a track record of innovative thinking.”
Bridget Rosewell, chair, Roads for the Future competition jury
“With 81 entries received, the competition has demonstrated the keen interest there is across industry to be at the forefront of the technologies supporting the introduction of driverless cars. We wanted to see how the rules of the road, road design and traffic management could all be adapted to accommodate these new vehicles – and these five entries particularly demonstrated the exciting potential there is to make the best use of those we already have.”
Laura Shoaf, Managing Director, Transport for West Midlands
“I was really impressed with the overall quality of the submissions and I could see how so many of the ideas could help Transport for West Midlands with what we are doing in this space. The shortlisted candidates all had very well thought out proposals for which a practical application was clear. It is critical that the UK is at the forefront of the CAVs agenda, as we are the home of automotive innovation. What is clear is that innovation is alive and well in the supply chain and our thought leaders in this field.”
