The road test of Australia’s first driverless car on Adelaide's Southern Expressway tomorrow will be streamed live to the world via the internet. The test will take place from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and the Southern Expressway will be closed for the trial.

Packed with sensors and other electronic equipment, the self-driving Volvo XC-90 will undergo a battery of exercises that will test its ability to steer, stop and react quicker than a human driver in the midst of other vehicles on the expressway.

The Volvo’s cameras each have a 360 degree view of the road environment while its radars and sensors detect other vehicles and pedestrians both day and night. Driverless cars are expected to be much safer than human driven cars since nine out of 10 road accidents in Australia are caused by driver error.

Experts point out this Volvo will be the safest car anywhere on Australian roads tomorrow, according to TV station WTYV. They also believe driverless cars are eminently suited to Australia because of the country’s extensive highway network and vast expanse.

The extreme publicity being attached to this event is being driven by history. The specially outfitted Volvo XC-90 will become the first driverless car to be road tested in Australia. It will also shine the global spotlight on South Australia, which has introduced legislation in Parliament that makes it easier for manufacturers of self-driving cars to test their vehicles on SA roads.

"As technologies change and vehicles start getting into smaller runs, you may well see South Australia involved in, perhaps not the assembly of the whole of the vehicle, but crucial elements of the vehicle”, said South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, according to abc.net.au.

Driverless cars aren’t coming to a showroom near you anytime soon and are scheduled to appear on American highways by the 2020s. They will also make it to Australia in the 2020s.

Last February, Volvo launched a public pilot program where 100 self driving cars will be tested by ordinary people on certain roads in Gothenburg, Sweden by 2017.

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