Where are we with self driving vehicles?

Dr Nick Reed, Founder at Reed Mobility and Chief Road Safety Adviser at National Highways

Self-driving vehicles have been anticipated for many years with the promise of bringing safer, more efficient and more accessible transportation. Test vehicles with varying levels of technology are currently being tested in many places around the world, with some being involved in extremely serious, sometimes fatal, incidents involving other road users.

This presentation will explore some of the challenges and tensions that will need to be resolved in order for self-driving vehicles to be deployed, and look at when, where, and how the expected benefits are likely to be achieved.

About Dr Nick Reed

For the last twenty years, Dr Nick Reed, a chartered scientist, has worked consistently at the cutting edge of mobility research with a focus on road safety and transport technologies. Nick was previously Head of Mobility R&D at Bosch, the world's largest automotive supplier, where he was instrumental in connected and automated vehicle (CAV) projects.

In 2019, he founded Reed Mobility – an independent expert consultancy on future mobility working across public, private and academic sectors to deliver transport systems that are safe, clean, efficient, ethical and equitable.

In November 2021, he was appointed as the first ever Chief Road Safety Advisor to National Highways, providing review and challenge to the organisation in its aim to deliver Vision Zero on the national strategic road network.

Nick has appeared on BBC News, Sky News, ITN, and CNN, and featured in The Times, The Sun and The Daily Telegraph.