Driverless lorries to hit UK roads
This is not America with its deserted freeways, warns AA as motorway tests are announced for next year
“DRIVERLESS” lorries will be trialled on motorways for the first time next year, ministers have announced.
Up to three lorries will travel in automated convoys which will be controlled by one driver in the lead vehicle, with acceleration and braking synchronised. The lorries are being tested in an effort to cut congestion and emissions, but the AA has warned that the plans could pose a risk to motorists, highlighting the fact that the fleets, or “platoons”, will be the equivalent of half a football pitch long.
The technology has been tested successfully in Europe and the US, but the motoring organisation said it was not suitable for the UK’S motorways.
Edmund King, president of the AA, said: “We have some of the busiest motorways in Europe. Platooning may work on the deserted freeways in Arizona or Nevada but this is not America.
“A platoon of just three HGVS can obscure road signs from drivers in the outside lanes and potentially make access to entries or exits difficult for other drivers.”
The Department for Transport said that the vehicles, which use wireless technology, would travel closely together, with acceleration and braking controlled by the lead vehicle. It said the front vehicle pushing air out of the way made the other vehicles more efficient, helping to lower their emissions.
Ministers said that a driver would be in the cab of each of the lorries controlling the steering and ready to take over full control in the event of a problem.
The Government has provided £8.1 million funding towards the trials, which will take place on a test track before being carried out on motorways. Whitehall officials indicated the trials could take place on a stretch of the M6 near Carlisle.
Paul Maynard, the transport minister, said platooning “could benefit businesses through cheaper fuel bills and other road users thanks to lower emissions and less congestion. But first we must make sure the technology is safe.”
The trial is also funded by Highways England and will be carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory.
The test track research will help to establish the appropriate distance between vehicles and on which roads the tests should take place.
Steve Gooding, the RAC Foundation’s director, said financial savings could be made, “but on our heavily congested motorways – with stop-start traffic and vehicles jostling for position – the benefits are less certain”.
Richard Burnett, of the Road Haulage Association, said the organisation understood the benefits of platooning but insisted “safety has to come first”.
Driverless cars are seen as the future of the industry, with manufacturers such as Ford and Volvo vying with Silicon Valley giants such as Google, Uber and Apple as they race to become market leaders in the technology. In the UK, the first driverless car tests were carried out in Milton Keynes, which has pledged to make automated vehicles part of “everyday life” for residents.