PACTS, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, heads outside of London for its annual autumn conference on Wednesday (October 22), to give delegates hands-on experience of the new vehicle technology that is already driving autonomous cars onto our roads.

Thatcham Research, the motor insurers’ safety body, will host the event, surrounding visitors with the latest vehicle technologies, crash test dummies and live repair projects.Key speakers will tackle the legal, insurance and technical issues of driverless cars. 

The conference coincides with the Government’s review of regulations for driverless cars and the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry Motoring of the Future. It will be chaired by Professor Pete Thomas, Loughborough University.

Outdoor and indoor displays include the chance to drive Thatcham’s range of cars fitted with autonomous emergency braking and other advance driver assistance systems including:

• Queue Assist
• Low Speed Autonomous Emergency Braking (vehicle to vehicle)
• Low Speed Autonomous Emergency Braking (vehicle to pedestrian)
• Reverse Auto Brake
• Self-parking systems

PACTS executive director David Davies said: “Increasing levels of vehicle automation are here - driverless or otherwise. These offer significant opportunities to improve road safety.

“This conference will bring together experts from the UK and abroad to explore ways to maximise the benefits for all road users and to avoid possible negative consequences.”

Thatcham Research CEO Peter Shaw added: “This is an exciting time for motorists. Advances in road safety are increasingly dependent on advances in vehicle technology and we are delighted to demonstrate some of the latest technology.”

Delegate spaces are filling fast and are limited to 150. For more information and booking, click here.
 

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