Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment Melanie Schultz rode in the first highway test drive of an autonomous car in the Netherlands.

TU Delft, TNO, RDW and Connekt are collaborating in the Dutch Automated Vehicle Initiative (DAVI). The demonstration involves automatic, cooperatively driven cars where a car drives at a short distance from the car in front, determining the speed itself by communicating with other cars on the road and with the driver not having his or her hands on the steering wheel (platooning).

The cars not only have the technology for automatic driving but can also communicate through a wireless communication network with other cars and the surrounding infrastructure.

Platooning can reduce fuel consumption; if two trucks drive close together, for example, 10-20% fuel can be saved. TNO and its partners in industry and government are targeting more road testing in 2014 and 2015.