It would make Dubai the first place in the world to have them…

A few years ago, we might have laughed off the idea of a driverless car. But now that idea is becoming a reality – and the first ones could be on Dubai roads as early as 2021.

An official from the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA), has confirmed that Dubai is on its way to being the first country in the world to have regulations on autonomous (driverless) vehicles.

A conference is being held today, Tuesday November 26 at the International Conference on Future mobility and if the first draft of the application is passed, we could potentially be cruising down Sheikh Zayed Road without a driver in two years time.

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So what is a driverless car? Well, these autonomous vehicles have been equipped with smart technology, meaning they can sense the environment around them and adapt as needed, whilst getting their passenger seamlessly from one location to the other.

The final standards and regulations are expected to be issued in 2020, with the high-tech driverless vehicles, which will include a fleet of Dubai taxis, expected to be physically on the road a year after that.

In April 2019, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council issued an initiative for the regulation of autonomous vehicle testing.

The vehicles are tested to the highest standards by Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) on efficiency, reliability, smart mobility and, above all, safety.

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