Self-Driving Cars Come to Ontario

Apparently since my last post a lot has happened. One of these being that the self-driving car project has come to Ontario. Our beautiful province will be the first to allow the testing of autonomous cars on Canadian roads. The man behind the approval is none other than Mr. Steven Del Duca, Ontario Trasnportation Minister. In a speech at Waterloo University he said: "In order to compete, Ontario needs to be consistent with the approach of U.S. jursidictions.". Mr. Del Duca would like to see the University, as well as businesses working together to make the autonomous project a reality.

Now who exactly are they gonna get to do the testing? People of the province that would like to volunteer. Who better than the people that would be using on a day to day basis. Then again, if you think for a second that they will let anyone do the project, you wrong. There are a ton of requirements , and not everyone is chosen. Some requirements include:

• This pilot is restricted to testing purposes only;
• The pilot will run for 10 years and include interim evaluations;
• Only vehicles manufactured and equipped by approved applicants are permitted;
• The driver must remain in the driver's seat of the vehicle at all times and monitor the vehicle's operation;
• The driver must hold a full class licence for the type of vehicle being operated;
• Eligible participants must have insurance of at least $5,000,000;
• All current Highway Traffic Act rules of the road and penalties will apply to the driver/vehicle owner; and,
• Vehicles must comply with SAE Standard J3016 and any requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada) that apply to automated driving systems for the vehicle's year of manufacture.

(SAE) Society of Automotive Engineers 

Those eligible to participate in the pilot include auto manufacturers defined within the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada), technology companies, academic and research institutions and a manufacturer of parts, systems, equipment or components for automated driving systems.

I`d like o briefly talk about the parts highlighted in red. Were not gonna be seeing any kids driving these. Basically were looking at someone between the ages of 20 and 45. I don`t think anyone in that age group will have time to "test cars". Then again there is no one who can afford a $5,000,000 insurance policy, even if they could that would mean ditching their other car for sure.

Hopefully the pilot can take off not only in Ontario but also in Windsor. Maybe even open a car plant for autonomous cars in Windsor

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/ontario-announcement-automated-cars-1.3268181
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/vehicles/automated-vehicles.shtml