Road Trains

An idea that originally grabbed my attention some months ago concerned the research being undertaken by the Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SATRE – funded by the EU) which investigated the prospect of automated vehicle motorway transport. This concept involved the creation of “Road Trains” on Europe’s motorways that allowed vehicle drivers to join a convoy, manoeuvred by a lead driver, and stop manually automating their individual car and be directed by the operations of the lead driver. This would allow the convoy driver to partake in other activities such as reading or sleeping.

Road Trains are currently undergoing further research and testing but a European implementation of 2011 has been touted. The research, that has so far been conducted, highlights a number of advantages. Firstly, convoy drivers will benefit from an average 20% reduction in fuel use due to the slipstream effect often employed by professional cyclists. This will directly reduce the carbon intensity of the journey for a convoy vehicle. The first question that comes to me is will the lead driver be professionally employed to conduct this operation or simply another motorway driver who is also undertaking a long haul journey? My inclination is that it must be a professional driver and thus, keeping in mind the supposed fuel/carbon benefits, the Road Trains will have to average a convoy of at least 5 cars (if we assume the cars are comparable with fuel/carbon efficiency) to outweigh the operation of the lead vehicle.

Secondly it is stated that this will also reduce road accidents, I imagine by creating a more uniform and predictable driving environment. This may be true but there are two areas of concern that quickly come to my mind. The Road Train may become more uniform in behaviour but that does not say anything for the behaviour of other road users. If there was a road user who, for some reason, losses control of their vehicle then the consequences of this loss of control will be dictated not only by their ability to re-establish direct control of their vehicle, but also by the evasive action of other road users. If these other road users are currently part of a Road Train then their attention pay be elsewhere and thus their capability to react to such a situation is diminished.

Related to the above point is the possibility of one of the vehicles in the convoy experiencing some form of mechanical or systems failure. If the vehicle in front had a tyre blow out at high speed the opportunity to avoid a collision for the vehicle behind could be measured in a few seconds. If the driver in the vehicle behind has their attention distracted or are sleeping then this could increase the likelihood of a crash. A concern similar in nature to this is the operation of the vehicle linking system itself. I imagine that such a system would be subjected to rigorous testing before being deployed though I would personally still have reservations with putting my life into the hands of an automated computer system (though I suppose I do it every time I step onboard a aeroplane). If the connection signal is lost of corrupted for just a few seconds this could cause a collision.

Finally we come to the topic of cost. The system is said to rely on technology already in existence and can be purchased off the shelf. What I envisage is that it will take the form of some variant to the GPS guidance system that will have a two way communication link with the other vehicles in the convoy, this wont be the only alteration required however. A linking system between the navigation and vehicle controls will be needed in order for the car to be automated remotely. I’m no vehicle engineer but I imagine this alteration will not come cheaply. If this system is to be retrofitted onto existing vehicle stock it will also have to take account of the multiple designs utilised by different automotive manufactures in different vehicle brands further inflating the costs.

All told what initially struck me as an innovative and useful prospect has developed implementation holes in it rather quickly after further analysis. I will still keep following the development of this concept and I hope the concerns I have outlined above are either resolved or prove ill judged on my part.