A hyperactive reporter recently spotted a somewhat weird four-wheeled contraption on the roads of Arlington, Virginia.
Having been spotted by other fazed motorists a week before, the seemingly driverless Ford Transit Connect was a sight to behold, so News4 reporter Adam Tuss followed the car for about 20 minutes.
The original headlines were revolving around Ford conducting clandestine autonomous vehicle testing in the Arlington area, but the truth is a little bit more humorous than that.
At a traffic light, Tuss got out of his car to inspect the seemingly autonomous minivan and saw that instead of a run-of-the-mill driver there was actually someone dressed as a driver's seat behind the wheel.
Questions like “Brother, who are you? What are you doing? I'm with the news, dude!” got no reaction from the seat-dressed driver, who almost immediately punched it and ran a yellow light.
As it happens, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, of all institutions, admitted that both the Ford van and its driver are part of a study that they are conducting on driverless cars. Apparently, the “seat uniform” was all part of the peculiar scheme.
“The driver's seating area is configured to make the driver less visible within the vehicle, while still allowing him or her the ability to safely monitor and respond to surroundings," a statement from the institute said.
The even funnier bit is that the Arlington Police Department was allegedly “shocked” by the news of the car's existence, as were the other witnesses, probably.
Apart from having a nearly invisible human driver behind the wheel, the Transit Connected was not fitted with any autonomous driving features.
That said, automated vehicle testing is expected to commence in the area soon, with Virginia Tech overseeing real driverless cars that are restricted to testing along I-95, I-495, I-66, Route 50 and Route 29.
All these routes are being dubbed “Virginia Automated Corridors,” so don't be surprised when actual cars without drivers are spotted in the area. Until that time comes, the Ford Transit Connect everyone was amazed at is just a regular car with a hidden driver.
The original headlines were revolving around Ford conducting clandestine autonomous vehicle testing in the Arlington area, but the truth is a little bit more humorous than that.
At a traffic light, Tuss got out of his car to inspect the seemingly autonomous minivan and saw that instead of a run-of-the-mill driver there was actually someone dressed as a driver's seat behind the wheel.
Questions like “Brother, who are you? What are you doing? I'm with the news, dude!” got no reaction from the seat-dressed driver, who almost immediately punched it and ran a yellow light.
As it happens, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, of all institutions, admitted that both the Ford van and its driver are part of a study that they are conducting on driverless cars. Apparently, the “seat uniform” was all part of the peculiar scheme.
“The driver's seating area is configured to make the driver less visible within the vehicle, while still allowing him or her the ability to safely monitor and respond to surroundings," a statement from the institute said.
The even funnier bit is that the Arlington Police Department was allegedly “shocked” by the news of the car's existence, as were the other witnesses, probably.
Apart from having a nearly invisible human driver behind the wheel, the Transit Connected was not fitted with any autonomous driving features.
That said, automated vehicle testing is expected to commence in the area soon, with Virginia Tech overseeing real driverless cars that are restricted to testing along I-95, I-495, I-66, Route 50 and Route 29.
All these routes are being dubbed “Virginia Automated Corridors,” so don't be surprised when actual cars without drivers are spotted in the area. Until that time comes, the Ford Transit Connect everyone was amazed at is just a regular car with a hidden driver.
This is one of the strangest things I've ever seen @nbcwashington @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/8ipKEnkeiq
— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) August 7, 2017
Here's me trying to talk to a man in a car seat costume @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/e5humOM7uS
— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) August 7, 2017