New car technology that allows drivers to switch their cars to automatic pilot and join a fast-moving queue of tailgating vehicles travelling at speeds of up to 70mph may be commonplace on British motorways within a decade.
The ‘road train’ technology would enable a line of up to eight cars to drive behind a lead vehicle that would do all the braking and steering.
The engineers behind the idea claim it will reduce each vehicle’s fuel consumption by as much as twenty per cent due to the aerodynamic advantage of slipstreaming a few feet behind the vehicle in front.
‘Permissible’ tailgating may send wrong message
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Many motorway drivers have pre-empted the so-called “road train” technology that allows a group of cars to drive autonomously in a tight bunch at 70mph; tailgating at speeds well in excess of the national speed limits is already commonplace and a cause of many fatal collisions.”
“A lower-tech solution would be for drivers themselves to maintain a safe stopping distance between their car and the vehicle in front – this is a tried-and-tested approach that is known to deliver lower emissions, fewer crashes and reduced congestion.”
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