Semi-automated trucks will go on trial on UK public roads by the end of 2018, the government has announced.
The Transport Research Laboratory has been awarded a contract to carry out the tests to find more fuel-efficient ways to transport goods across the country.
Self-driving trucks have already been in development over Europe and in the United States. The UK government have put aside £8.1 million in funding for the project.
Transport Minister Paul Maynard said: “Advances such as lorry platooning could benefit businesses through cheaper fuel bills and other road users, thanks to lower emissions and less congestion,”
“But first we must make sure the technology is safe and works well on our roads, and that’s why we are investing in these trials.”
According to TRL, other trials have shown improvements in fuel economy of between 4 and 10 percent. A local trial will examine potential benefits of platooning in the UK.
Although during the trials all trucks will have a driver present to take control if necessary, Edmund King, President of the Automobile Association believes self-driving trucks raise safety concerns.
“We all want to promote fuel efficiency and reduce congestion but we are not yet convinced that lorry platooning on UK motorways is the way to go about it,” he said in a BBC radio interview.
“We have some of the busiest motorways in Europe with many more exits and entries. This is not America, we do not have massive freeways like in Nevada and Arizona where you’ve got long stretches of road that are pretty open,”
“If you look at the UK, we have more entrances and exits to our motorways and they are much more congested.”
Director of the RAC Foundation, Steve Gooding, made similar comments: “Streams of close-running HGVs could provide financial savings on long-distance journeys, but on our heavily congested motorways – with stop-start traffic and vehicles jostling for position – the benefits are less certain.”