Automated Car Takes Test Drive in Tampa

Following behind a small phalanx of Audis traveling down an otherwise empty stretch of the Selmon Expressway’s elevated lanes, Kaushik Raghu takes his hands off the steering wheel of the gray 2012 Audi A7 with a vanity license plate reading “SELF1E.” Yet the sleek German sedan continues rolling along, staying in the lane and keeping pace with the cars ahead of it. Raghu’s short hands-free journey on a scorching Sunday afternoon is the prequel to a much more formal event on Monday, during which Audi engineers will show off their piloted driving technology to Gov. Rick Scott and State Sen. Jeff Brandes, a driverless car proponent.