LTA findings on autonomous vehicle accident in Punggol to be shared with public: Sun Xueling
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A safety timeout has been called for ComfortDelGro's fleet of autonomous vehicles in Punggol.
PHOTO: ALVIN TEO/FACEBOOK
- Senior Minister of State Sun Xueling assured Punggol residents of public safety following the autonomous vehicle accident involving ComfortDelGro (CDG) on Jan 17.
- CDG's autonomous vehicle collided with a road divider in Punggol; a safety timeout has been called for CDG's autonomous vehicle fleet.
- Despite the CDG incident, Grab's autonomous vehicle shuttles on Route 1 will continue testing; public roll-out is expected soon.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling has reassured Punggol residents that the authorities take public safety seriously and that the findings of an investigation into an autonomous vehicle (AV) accident on Jan 17
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is looking into the accident. As the vehicle was operated by ComfortDelGro (CDG), a safety timeout has been called for the company’s fleet of AVs in the town.
In a Facebook post on Jan 19, Ms Sun, who is also an MP for Punggol GRC, said that Grab-operated AV shuttles plying a 10km route from Punggol West to Punggol East, called Route 1, will continue to run.
She said: “Though they have a similar colour scheme, they have a different operator (Grab) and use a different software and are of a different vehicle type.
“These vehicles will continue to ply Route 1 as part of testing and familiarisation. The rides are not yet open to the public as we are gathering feedback to improve the shuttle service.”
Punggol residents have been asked to try the Grab service from Jan 12 on a by-invitation basis,
Ms Sun’s comments came after an AV operated by CDG hit a road divider while undergoing a road test in Punggol on Jan 17.
CDG said one of its vehicles was involved in the accident in Edgedale Plains at 3.10pm on Jan 17.
The vehicle detected a small object on the road and responded accordingly, the transport operator said, adding that the safety operator on board then took over the steering manually. ST has asked CDG and LTA what the object was. The vehicle hit the road divider during the manual takeover. No passenger was on board, and no one was hurt.
CDG will operate one of three AV routes planned in Punggol, in partnership with Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai. Its route goes from Punggol East to Punggol North. The other two routes will be run by technology company Grab in partnership with Chinese AV company WeRide.
Saying that safety cannot be compromised even as the AVs are being tested, Ms Sun added: “The Ministry of Transport and LTA will continue to work closely with the operators to ensure safety while striving to improve last-mile connectivity for Punggol residents.”
