Park life Destination unknown The journey towards a world of automated vehicles is continuing apace, but are we ready for it? Kelvin Reynolds invites you to step back from the proverbial Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole and consider the final destination esterdays innovation is todays history. There are some hard lessons and experiences that teach us that not every idea is a good one. Some are ahead of their time, too. In the 1960s, I watched what might have been the worlds first automated parking garage the Woolwich Auto-stacker being constructed opposite my school at a cost of 100k (1.6m in today s money). I saw it demolished a few years later (for 60k/1m) because it didnt work properly, and people lost trust in it. Technology ahead of its time, they said. When investing in new projects, its important to consider if people want or need it, or are we doing it just because we can? Y Emperors new clothes? Transport guru Christian Wolmar wrote in The Times recently: It is unclear where the push for driverless cars is coming from. There is no public desire: surveys show a reluctance to use driverless cars, they will not solve congestion, and there are huge safety concerns, especially with regard to computer hacking. He described the massive investment and rush towards a world of autonomous vehicles as being like the Emperors new clothes. Is he correct? What do you think? I welcome our diverse membership and seemingly endless stream of innovators coming forward with new ideas and possibilities. Its great to see our association at the forefront of this brave new world. If the automated vehicle utopia was to exist and many of our members are doing some groundbreaking work towards it it is possible that we could have a world where everyone is using a driverless car. However, I am not so sure if and when this will become a reality. Not because I am a Luddite, but because history shows that people are not universally ready to relinquish control. Until everyone agrees, there will always be humans driving vehicles, ready to take back control. Meanwhile, our laws, our traffic and parking management systems, and our thinking will need to cater for humans and autopilots navigating our roads alongside each other. Now that is a fascinating prospect. Interestingly, a study by the RAC Foundation in October 2017 found that half (50 per cent) of Britons are concerned about future driverassistance technologies taking too much control away from the driver. This compared with just 20 per cent who are unconcerned. Driving smarter change For me, the race towards automated vehicles is a little like the space race in the 1960s: it was an amazing adventure for humankind and a few people got to go to the moon, but nearly everyone on the planet has benefited from the resulting scientific advances. The drive to autonomous vehicles is giving us incremental change towards smarter vehicles and betterconnected journeys that are safer and have the potential to be cleaner. Vehicles are automatically dealing with scenarios that humans are not good at, such as braking sooner and more safely. Smart motorways and smart vehicles with adaptive cruise control, automatic lane guidance and better speed management will be even more commonplace in the medium term. Connected and autonomous vehicles will even predict congested routes, and networks will become safer and more efficient as a result. For disabled motorists, these innovations should be a real boom as the opportunities for people to drive safely with less physical effort becomes easier, and journeys become more reliable. That said, telematics, such as video conferencing and remote working, is reducing our need to travel. There is a big focus on air quality and clean-air zones, and the government is actively promoting cycling and walking and sustainable developments. If I wanted to contribute to reduce congestion, improve air quality and promote sustainable transport, I would take a bus or a train, or even walk. Am I so very different to everyone else? Am I an April fool? Or is a world of fully automated vehicles a little like imagining Alices Wonderland? Kelvin Reynolds Director of corporate and public affairs kelvin.r@britishparking.co.uk 62 britishparking.co.uk PNApril19 pp62 Kelvin Parklife.indd 62 21/03/2019 13:17