Limburg to develop plans for testing self-driving cars on public roads

The province of Limburg has been tasked with developing plans to become a suitable European trial area for self-driving cars. A motion calling for the province to develop these plans with governing parties in Belgium and Germany was supported by a majority in the Provincial Council of Limburg on Friday.

PvdA, SP, D66, CDA, JA21, Lokaal Limburg, and the FVD brought the motion. It is connected to the European Commission’s intentions to make the car industry more sustainable and less dependent on fossil fuel. The commission wants various areas in Europe to be a part of tests involving autonomously driven cars on public roads.

PvdA party chairwoman Aleida Berghorst, who submitted the motion, thinks that Limburg, being a border province, is well suited to being a trial area. “Here you can test in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, in the hills and on flat land,” said Berghorst, who also mentioned the proximity of the car factories in Eindhoven as a beneficial factor.

Berghorst also stated that self-driving cars can improve flow, accessibility, and traffic safety in the region while also giving the regional economy a boost. Limburg has already attached itself to smaller pilot projects for research into self-driving cars in the past.

Member of the Provincial Executive and the PvdA, Jasper Kuntzelaers, was enthusiastic about the motion and indicated that Limburg have been working with a consortium of governments and other parties for a while to look into experiments regarding autonomous driving.

“These steps would definitely be helped by a positive political statement,” said Kuntzelaers prior to the vote. "That is a clear indication to our partners that you attach importance to this."