Serbia to China - without a driver!
A fleet of solar powered electric vans is on its way to China, intending to arrive by October 2010, in the final phase of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Van insurance customers should be interested in these development as this technology could one day make van driving safer. The team had intended to set off from Italy where VisLab, the company responsible for fitting out the Piaggio electric vans, is based. But delays meant that the first part of the journey had to be abandoned, hence the start from Serbia instead. At the time of writing the vehicles have just entered Russia and are having problems with batteries as well as their first (minor) accident. But the accident wasn't down to the technology, it was human error. One of the operatives forgot to turn off all the systems as they stopped for a break. Still, that will be comforting for van insurance policy holders who are worried about future employment. In theory the progress of the team can be followed live from the VisLab website (http://viac.vislab.it/?page_id=152) but in reality the feed seems to be down more than it's up. If the project succeeds in demonstrating that driverless vehicles can safely travel ordinary roads then in theory cheap van insurance will be the order of the day as accident levels drop. News brought to you by Insure My Vehicle, providing you with a high standard of vehicle insurance tailored to your needs.
August 24th 2010
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