British government calls for platooning change to law
The British government has this week called for changes to their Highway Code to enable HGV platooning on motorways, while at the same time pledging a further £30 million to developing and trialling driverless technology.
The call came as an open consultation was launched into the future of autonomous and advanced drivers assistance systems, aimed at shaking up the insurance industry, removing scepticism and broadening public acceptance of the latest in-vehicle technology.
They feature in the report Pathway to Driverless Cars: Proposals to support from the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
Among the proposals is a very specific call to allow platooning of HGVs, where trucks connected via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) telematics are to be exempted from regulations around stopping distances. Platooning works by V2V-equipped trucks being allowed to effectively operate as a single unit – accelerating and braking simultaneously.
While operating in platoon mode, because there is no delay between vehicles when braking, the headway between each vehicle can be reduced to a few metres, allowing the vehicles to benefit from reduced aerodynamic drag and therefore increased fuel efficiency. Platooning could also free more road space and improve traffic flow, but would still require manual intervention for situations where the V2V systems wouldn’t be able to operate, such as emergencies and steep inclines.
Platooning allows the driver of any trailing vehicle to temporarily delegate control to the driver of the lead vehicle. The platoon would operate over long distance journeys, and would need to separate when the system reached its performance limits. Depending on the sophistication of the system, drivers in the trailing vehicles may be in-the-loop (controlling steering and/or monitoring the system), or out-of-the-loop entirely.
The government says it is investing in a platooning trial later this year to assess the benefits that could be obtained when operating platoons on our roads. The report states: “We believe that platooning trials will require no additional changes to domestic regulations, as long as the driver of each vehicle in the platoon remains alert and ready to take control in the event of platoon separation, or to avoid an incident. Changes to the Highway Code may be appropriate to support the commercial use of platoons.”
Highway Code Rule 126, which calls on drivers to allow a two-second gap between vehicles to enable both thinking and reaction time, however, will need to be reconsidered to cater for platoon situations, according to the report: “By employing a system, which can brake simultaneously with the vehicle in front, such as in a platoon, the thinking distance is reduced if not removed completely. As such, there is an opportunity to reduce the separation distance required between these vehicles, and hence to maximise the efficiency gains through reduced aerodynamic drag.”
The consultation period will run until 9 September, 2016.
Speaking at the launch of the consultation, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, said, “Britain is leading the way but I want everyone to have the chance to have a say on how we embrace and use these technologies. Our roads are already some of the safest in the world and increasing advanced driver assist and driverless technologies have the potential to help cut the number of accidents further.”
An additional £30 million from the Intelligent Mobility Fund will be used to fund further research into autonomous vehicles and development projects