The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded an Ohio-based team comprised of academia, community and industry members a $7.5 million Automated Driving Systems Demonstration Grant on Tuesday.
The funding is in addition to $10.3 million the partners contributed.
The group, led by DriveOhio, an Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) initiative, will use the funds to develop and deploy automated driving systems on rural roads and highways and examine the potential economic impacts of the technology. The group will work for four years.
“By focusing on 32 counties in Ohio’s rural Appalachian region, studies supported by this grant will be the most comprehensive effort yet to be conducted on our nation’s rural roads,” Jack Marchbanks, ODOT director, said. “Although 97 percent of the nation is rural, and more than half of all U.S. traffic fatalities occur on rural roads, most of this testing to date in other states has been conducted in urban areas. The lessons we learn in Ohio can have enormous benefits for our own state and nationwide as we work to make our transportation system safer.”
During testing, a driver will be behind the wheel. Testing will occur year-round, around the clock, on paved and unpaved roads, in work zones and during periods of limited visibility.