Crowthorne, Berks, UK: The Department for Transport (DfT) and Highways England have commissioned TRL (Transport Research Laboratories) to lead the first real-world operational trial of platooning vehicles on UK roads.

The £8.1M trial will see TRL lead a consortium of partners including DAF Trucks, the UK market leader in HGV sales, Ricardo, which worked with TRL to deliver the HGV Platooning feasibility study for the DfT in 2014, and logistics giant DHL.

DAF and Ricardo were  part of the EcoTwin consortium that performed platooning trials in the Netherlands last year.

The UK on-road trials will form part of regular DHL logistical operations and are expected to take place in 2018, "following the successful completion of a rigorous programme of driving simulations, driver training and test track trials over the coming months," says TRL.

The ultimate aim of platooning is to allow one driver to perform two or three drivers' work, producing major cost savings and addressing the long-distance driver shortage problem. However, drivers will be needed when the trucks enter or exit the motorway, so a whole new infrastructure would need to be developed, as well as hundreds of miles of "smart" motorways.

Many commentators in the UK take the view that the trials are pointless, because Britain's highways are so congested. However, platooning could take place in nght time hours when the roads are much quieter.

In the short-term, close formation makes for:

• better use of road space, as the following truck(s) can be safely run much closer to the lead truck
• less "blocking" by HGVs – all motorists are familar with HGVs running seemingly parallel across two or even three lanes as they overtake at 1-2 mph faster than the slower truck(s). This is a major cause of tailbacks
• "drafting" by the lead truck saves fuel consumption by the following trucks. TRL did not respond to worldcargonews.com's request for an estimate of fuel savings.

In the US, platooning is being researched as a way to gain fuel savings due to reduced aerodynamic drag. Acclording to NITL, New Mexico officials are working with platooning developer Peloton Technology.*

In Texas, the Department of Transportation is working with the the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to explore regulations related to truck platooning, as well as the many technical concerns around large freight vehicles closely trailing each other.

“So we’re defining kind of acceptable corridors for platooning,” said Mike Lukuc, a researcher in connected and automated transportation at TTI. “Now what the Texas Department of Transportation does with those [corridors] we don’t know.”

"As a practical matter, truck-platooning will probably work best on relatively flat, divided, multi-lane highways in rural areas," Lukuc is quoted by NITL.

*This is a neat name! In a cycle peleton, second and third wheel can go at the same speed as first wheel for 20-25% less effort (crosswinds permitting!)