"Roadtrains" on our roads in years to come?

[Mr E]

This is an interesting story...

The thought has been kicking around for a number of years but looks like some decent research and trials may start soon. I guess there will be issues to be sorted around insurance liabilities, etc, and as new technology would need to be embedded into vehicles it'll be a long time time coming. However, you can see some benefits to this, perhaps initially in the commercial space.

What do people think?

 

[corned]

Never going to happen!

The main reason now is the same as before. Mechanical breakdown/tyre blowout and the resultant total carnage which would be guaranteed if such a measure was ever implemented.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Worst idea ever.

It takes lorries about 3 miles to overtake slower lorries as it is, causing slow moving traffic all day long (A14 for example) should you have a road-train that is double the length its going to cause chaos as slightly faster trucks will try and overtake them.

What we need is a decent rain system where most freight is carried off the road. Mainland Spain springs to mind - huge freight trains, low number of lorries on the road.

 

[blondebier]

They've had them in Australia for years...

(I'll get my coat...)

 

[Mr E]

Worst idea ever.

It takes lorries about 3 miles to overtake slower lorries as it is, causing slow moving traffic all day long (A14 for example) should you have a road-train that is double the length its going to cause chaos as slightly faster trucks will try and overtake them.

What we need is a decent rain system where most freight is carried off the road. Mainland Spain springs to mind - huge freight trains, low number of lorries on the road.

Don't think you quite got the concept behind this - a group of vehicles travelling closely together controlled by a lead vehicle & professional driver, not a monster-sized truck,

Interestingly, Spain is the country earmarked for public road trials...

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Don't think you quite got the concept behind this - a group of vehicles travelling closely together controlled by a lead vehicle & professional driver, not a monster-sized truck,

Interestingly, Spain is the country earmarked for public road trials...

I cant access BBC at work I take it ive replied not knowing fully what the subject is?

 

[renault12ts]

^ Yep. Shame on you.

 

[Mr E]

I cant access BBC at work I take it ive replied not knowing fully what the subject is?

A-ha...the title is somewhat misleading, but reflects the BBC article title...

Ricardo (who are leading the research and trial) are calling it "pontooning". Vehicles will be able to join and leave the pontoon which is a group of up to 8 vehicles travelling closely together. The pontoon is controlled and monitored by the lead driver.

From my quick trawl, the trial (which will run for three years) aims to check out the plausibility of this without having to install any extra infrstructure at the road side (it all does in the vehicle), validate the potntial fuel savings (20% is suggested as the saving for vehicles following the lead), and investigate the transition into a commercial business model (charge per mile for using the pontoon, for example).

It's not connected with any of the work or research I'm currently involved in, but it seems an interesting concept. Anything that would make the drive down to Frejus a little more enjoyable is worth looking at in my book

 

[Gridlock]

Now if the rail lobby were as effective as the RHA...

One train can take upwards of 1,000 tons off the roads.

 

[219]

I have to wonder about some of the safety implications

Several 'what ifs'

What if - the driver of another vehicle 'cuts up' the road train by barging in from a slip road halfway along the queue ?

What if - someone decides to cut across the queue in order to take an exit at the last minute ?

What if - the vehicle at the front has to perform an emergency stop because of an incident ahead ? How well will the following drivers react ?

What if - the 'professional driver' in the lead vehicle falls asleep at the wheel / is drunk / suffers a heart attack / does something stupid ?

What if - any of the vehicles in the queue has a blow out / mechanical breakdown ?

Probably lots more if I thought about it .

 

[219]

Oh

What if - the lead driver breaks the speed limit ?

Do all the following drivers get 'done' as well ?

 

[blondebier]

I'd like to see some evidence that it actually reduces congestion. If anything, I'd say it would make it worse.

I think there are far too many cars in the UK for this to work here.

 

[Dryce]

I'd like to see some evidence that it actually reduces congestion. If anything, I'd say it would make it worse.

I think there are far too many cars in the UK for this to work here.

It could work at night on specific routes. I don't see why, in principle, we couldn't have motorway based night freight network, particularly if it supplanted daytime freight and meant fewer trucks during the day.

But then trains do this sort of thing already on specific routes that are apparently called railway tracks.

 

[johnpritt]

Here in Belgium at periods of very heavy congesiton on certain motorways (i.e. summer on the motorway to the coast) the police use a system where blocks of traffic are forced to follow two police cars at a fixed speed (often 80-90 kph), strict lane discipline, etc., and it works. Traffic stays fluid and there are fewer accidents than normal. They try to keep the block of cars relatively short (but still up to 1 km in total length).

I would have thought that if systems like Distronic were more widely installed and used, then such a system could be quite effective.

Boring, but effective.

 

[verytalldave]

The logistics of mainland Britain is totally different to America/Australia and even Spain.
These three countries are vast in comparison to our little island.
Road trains will work in the larger countries where distances dictate this type of haulage. The UK is simply not big enough to contend with this type of road user.
A ridiculous idea.
Next thing will be a plan for a high speed rail network on the Isle of Wight.

 

[HR17]

Don't think you quite got the concept behind this - a group of vehicles travelling closely together controlled by a lead vehicle & professional driver, not a monster-sized truck,

Interestingly, Spain is the country earmarked for public road trials...

I've driven in Spain, and surely this can't be any more dangerous!

Seriously though, its going to be a long long time before this trialled over here, and even longer before its used or trusted. Unfortunately, technology, people and cars are untimately unreliable, so its an accident waiting to happen.

 

[lynall]

So basically you are all dependent on how good the front driver is

Have you seen how people drive nowadays?

Not that im a saint by any stretch of the imiganition



Lynall

 

[Ajenks]

Bad idea, and not thought out properly. road train technology has been around for a while and some research suggest this is a way of saving fuel over long journeys, you will not save much fuel if you join the end of a road train on a short journey, you will also no save fuel if at every entry/exit slip road someone exits the pack and you all have to shuffle up, It may work under test condition but not in the real world. It certainly wont work in the UK with our relatively short stretches of motorway.

If the only advantage of the system is fuel saving and that is in question, what's the point, because Pontoneer and other quite rightly point out lots of "what if" situations, are you going to be happy with a ford fiesta (nothing against them) following your AMG MB when the lead vehicle breaks on you break can the vehicle behind stop as quickly as you.

You want to travel by train go british rail