Driverless car goes through its paces in Tuam

CARS without a driver are not some futuristic dream any more. They are now a reality and the Tuam branch of Valeo Vision Systems which is at the international cutting edge of this new technology put one of those driverless cars through its paces at the testing track beside the company’s plant at Dunmore Road last Thursday.
Operated via a smartphone, the car did all the twirls required without any false movements, watched admiring by a group of executives from the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC). They were joined by senior directors from Valeo in France, senior executives from some of the world’s biggest motor manufacturers as well as from the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and academics from NUIG.
The crash test dummies, two mannequins also remotely controlled at the end of the test track, need have had no worries about being hit either, as the driverless car wove its way around them and parked inch perfect beside the footpath.
Among those watching were former Galway All-Ireland and All-Star footballer Derek Savage from Aughlora who is R&D Manager for automated parking at Valeo, Tuam. With him was the firm’s Product Segment Director for Ireland, Peter Reilly, a Claregalway resident for over 20 years.