Driveless cars taken to an extreme are becoming convoys of driverless trucks. If there are benefits to driveless cars, there will be benefits to driverless trucks: safer operations, more continuous operations, better fuel economy, and lower wages. If it works for one truck, why not two or more? Truckers already know about drafting, driving so closely behind another truck that drag is dramatically reduced. The practice is dangerous. If trucks are separated by a safe braking distance that is partly defined by human reaction times, then they’re too far apart to benefit from drafting. Computer-operated trucks, however, can act in unison allowing very tight formations. As a group, they begin to approximate cargo trains, one of the most efficient transportation systems. Testing has already begun in Europe, but the biggest benefits will probably be seen in larger countries like the US. Sharing the road with ten trucks electronically locked together may be an issue for merging and lane changes, but the benefits will probably ensure the change happens.
(Click on the photo for the link.)
“Driverless Lorry Convoys To Be Trialled In The UK” – Ars Technica
Pretending Not To Panic 