1. CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED MOBILITY IS A NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR EUROPE
Mobility is at a cross-roads. There have been many significant steps forward over the last century in road transport. But mobility is now crossing a new – digital – frontier with increasing automation and connectivity allowing vehicles to "talk" to each other, to the road infrastructure, and to other road users. These develoments, that benefit from the progress in the field of Artificial Intelligence1, open up an entirely new level of cooperation between road users which could potentially bring enormous benefits for them and for the mobility system as a whole, including making transport safer, more accessible and sustainable.

Driverless vehicles will change our lives, just as steam trains and motor cars did before them. They will shape the future of road transport and could lead to significantly reduced transport costs. They could pave the way for new services and offer new ways to respond to the everincreasing demand for mobility of people and goods. Once the current teething problems have been properly addressed – and they must be, driverless vehicles could significantly improve road safety since human error is estimated to play a role in 94 per cent of accidents2. Driverless vehicles could bring mobility to those who cannot drive themselves (e.g. elderly or disabled people) or are under-served by public transport. They could encourage car-sharing schemes and 'mobility as a service'3 (i.e. selling rides, not cars). They could also accelerate vehicle electrification and electro-mobility4. Ultimately, driverless vehicles could free up the space wasted in parking and revolutionise urban planning.

Read the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
May 17th 2018
- pdf - click here