RAC comments on driverless lorry platoon trials in the UK

Following media reports that the UK could see trials of driverless lorry systems, or 'driverless lorry platoons', RAC chief engineer David Bizley said: “The RAC would in principle welcome this kind of development but it does raise a lot of questions in terms of how the technology can be adopted safely.

“On the one hand there are a number of significant benefits that are being forecast as a result of the introduction of driverless lorries, such as an average fuel reduction of around 10% and improved motorway capacity because the lorries in the group will be far closer to one another than in a normal driving situation. It should also add to safety on the roads as there’s less opportunity for human error.

“In terms of the trials, it is our understanding that there will be drivers in every lorry until the technology is thoroughly proven, which is obviously a condition we would welcome. But looking further ahead to the point where there is one driver at the ‘front of the train’, the responsibility on their shoulders will be far greater and they may themselves need help from driver assistance technology to minimise the risk of error.

“But one of the main questions is really whether lorry platoons are appropriate for our motorway network, which is why the choice of the M6 in Cumbria for the trials is a good one because the junctions are few and far between and the traffic density is low compared with most stretches of motorway.

“So while this is a potentially welcome extension to the driverless technology we are seeing trialled in cars, it’s not clear yet whether it is something that would work in practice on the UK’s motorway network.”