Despite recent accidents involving driverless cars in the U.S.A, two companies involved in developing such vehicles here said they are generally safe to use. Earlier this month, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) signed an agreement to collaborate with U.K.-based Delphi Automotive Systems and local startup nuTonomy. Questions over the safety of such self-driving vehicles arose earlier this year. In May, the driver of a Tesla Model S in Florida died in a crash while the car was in autopilot mode. And in March, a Google self-driving car hit a bus in California. Still, nuTonomy, which expects to have a fleet of 75 autonomous cars operating in certain parts of Singapore by 2018, said its vehicles are currently able to handle '80 percent' of all traffic conditions here.

The startup has been testing its self-driving Mitsubishi i-MiEV on a 6km-long stretch of road at business park one-north since April this year. The vehicle has remained accident-free since then, driving in various conditions including through rain and at night. It has also managed to handle unpredictable elements such as motorcycles swerving in and out of traffic, without human intervention. "In 2017, we want to expand to other areas to test our cars and prove we can provide a safe and reliable service," said nuTonomy co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Emilio Frazzoli, adding that the firm was currently in discussions with LTA regarding this.

Speeds are currently kept to about 30km/h, but the cars are expected to travel at about 50km/h when made available to the public. Dr. Frazzoli said that nuTonomy's cars are programmed to drive defensively, and would slow down or even stop when they encounter difficult situations. Both nuTonomy and Delphi have outfitted their vehicles with a range of devices that give them a far wider range of vision than the average motorist, including numerous cameras and sensors for radar and lidar (light detection and ranging), which measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser light. These allow the cars to detect vehicles, pedestrians and other obstacles ahead of them, around corners and even behind them.

In the light of this, Delphi services Vice President Glen W. De Vos said he expects the firm's cars to be able to take on rush-hour traffic in Singapore's Central Business District. nuTonomy said that for safety reasons, it will have a driver inside its vehicles when it begins commercial services. "Eventually, we will have a remotely located safety driver who can give commands to the car," said nuTonomy Chief Operating Officer Doug Parker, adding that this 'driver' would be able to monitor the car's sensors and cameras. LTA regulations require autonomous vehicles that are being tested to have safety features, including a 'complete manual override' that would allow a driver to take full control of the vehicle.