Transurban has released the findings of its Brisbane connected and automated vehicles trial.
The trials were conducted on 166 kilometers of motorway-grade road, bridges and tunnels around the Brisbane and Logan area, including motorways operated by Transurban as well as those operated by the Queensland Government.
Specific finding include, electronic speed signs were challenging for some vehicles, some static signs were incorrectly interpreted, absence of lane markings often disengaged lane keeping and stopped vehicles were not always detected.
The trial used vehicles with partial automation capability on Brisbane motorways to identify potential problems and infrastructure changes that would have to be made to facilitate automated vehicles.
According to a Transurban spokesperson, in some cases these findings lead to clear recommendations and others were inconclusive, requiring further investigation.
Recommendations include, testing adjustments of lighting at selected tunnel exit portals, painting a continuous line marking on the left across an emergency bay and exploring options for greater recognition of electronic speed signs within tunnels.
According to the spokesperson, the collective findings will help vehicle manufacturers, road operators and governments prepare road infrastructure to support automated vehicles as they become more common on Australian roads.
Brisbane City Council, the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland, the Department for Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Police and the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland advised the trial.
Transurban also worked closely with car manufacturers Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Toyota and Volvo.
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