No driver? No problem, says Ottawa autonomous vehicle advocate

On a wintry week when just about everything that could go wrong on local roadwaysdid go wrong, news the province would be easing restrictions on driverless vehicles might have seemed premature.

Yet the head of Ottawa-basedCanadian Autonomous Vehicle Centre of Excellence, or CAVCOE, calls ita move in the right direction.

"The whole deployment of driverless cars will be gradual, both from a technology perspective and from regulations," said Barrie Kirk.

"It's a very good [first] step, which I support, but it's not going to be the ultimate in terms of driverless cars."

On Tuesday, OntarioTransportation Minister JeffYurekannounced changes to the automated vehicle industry changes that wouldallow some automated vehicles on public roads, either with a passenger inside or with a remote operator monitoring the car from a trailing vehicle.

• Ontario allows public road testing of autonomous cars without someone behind the wheel

The new rules expand Ontario's10-year automated vehicle pilot program, launched in 2016, said Yurek.

Yurek also said the program will also now allowresearchers to test "platooning" technology, in which driverless truckstravel together using support systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications.

Level 3 vehicles not yet available in Canada

Kirk told CBC Radio'sAll In A Day thattheprovince will also allow cars with higher levels of automation to be driven on Ontario roads once they're eligible to be purchased in Canada.

Kirk said there are different levels of self-driving vehicles, from zero to five, and alevel three car one that can drive itself for part of its journey, not the entire trip will be allowed under the new rules.

The decision to approve such vehicles for sale is the responsibility ofTransport Canada. Once they are,they'll no longer be restricted to registered participants of Ontario's automated vehicle pilot program.

"They will be allowed to be used by members of the public right away, without any special permit," said Kirk.

"And in fact, the new Audi A8 is being introduced that meets that kind of criteria, level three, as a stepping stone to full autonomy."

While Yurekpublicly announced the changes last week, they actually came intoeffect Jan. 1.