Monthly Archives: September 2018
HGV drivers accused of taking huge risks on West Midlands motorway
CAV
A recent meeting to discuss the motorway hub in the Midlands heard conservative Councillor Diana Holl-Allen MBE claim HGV drivers were putting lives at risk by racing each other out of boredom. Insisting this kind of driving needed to be stopped and calling it a ‘nuisance and a danger’, it was recommended that capacity and traffic flow on Midlands roads could be enhanced by using the latest technology known as ‘platooning’. This involves HGVs having to drive in a line which is headed up by a designated lead vehicle which is managed by a Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV), more widely recognised as driverless technology.
Clearly angry and frustrated about the situation, Councillor Holl-Allen agreed having extra lanes was a good thing for the region, but said HGV drivers needed to get out of the way and drew attention to their speed limit of 60 miles per hour.
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Platooning
Also at the meeting, Simon Statham, Head of Technical Programmes at Midlands Connect, gave a presentation where he explained how the platooning system could work in the area. He stated that HGVs needed to drive much closer together and particularly when driving on motorways. He went on to say that the fuel savings would provide environmental benefits, and also that the problem seems to be HGVs overtaking each other at about a mile and a half faster, resulting in two lanes getting blocked and leaving only a third lane for cars and other vehicle use.
Benefits
Selling the fuel efficiency benefits to the HGV companies and drivers will hopefully encourage them into one single lane and create greater capacity for other vehicles – the overall result being everyone benefits from the new system, but how they are going to communicate this to the drivers wasn’t reported.