Tailgating is safer and more efficient: Volvo

If Volvo has its way, we'll soon be driving in platoons. Its "road trains of cars"  idea is a high-tech attempt to make highway driving safer and our environmental impact smaller. The key? It's all about drag. 

Swedish automaker Volvo Car Corporation is testing the theory of tail-gating as an effective way to save fuel, the environment and create world peace! Didn't see that one coming, did you?

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The SARTRE project (Safe Road Trains for the Environment), with Volvo Car Corporation as the only participating car manufacturer, has successfully completed the first test demonstrations of a multiple vehicle platoon.

The test fleet included a lead truck followed by three cars driven entirely autonomously at speeds of up to 90 km/h, with no more than 6 metres gap between the vehicles.

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"The aim is for the entire road train to be completed in autumn 2012. By then we will have four vehicles after one lead vehicle driving at 90 km/h," says Erik Coelingh, technical project manager at the Volvo Car Corporation.

The SARTRE project is being driven by seven European partners and is the only one of its kind to focus on the development of technology that can be implemented on conventional highways in which platooned traffic operates in a mixed environment with other road users.

Recognizing that the challenge of implementing road train technology on Europe's highways is not solely a technical matter; SARTRE also includes a major study to identify what infrastructure changes will be needed for vehicle platooning to become a reality.

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The main advantage of road trains is that the driver of the automobile has time to do other things while seated in the vehicle. This is where the world peace part comes in as stress levels should decrease and brain activity can be employed to solve impending global issues or play another game of Sudoku.

Road trains promote safer transport since the vehicle platoons are led by a professional driver in e.g. a truck and inter-vehicle reaction response times are much quicker. Environmental impact is reduced since the cars follow close behind each other and benefit from the lower air drag. The energy saving is expected to be in the region of up to 20 percent. Road capacity will also be able to be utilised more efficiently.

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Applying simple math, this means the average distance you could travel in a 2012 Volvo XC60 3.2 FWD would increase by approximately 130 kilometres per tankful.

The project is addressing the three cornerstone transportation issues of environment, safety and congestion while at the same time encouraging driver acceptance through the prospect of increased "driver comfort". The objectives of SARTRE are:

1. To define a set of acceptable platooning strategies that will allow road trains to operate on public highways without changes to the road and roadside infrastructure.

2. To enhance, develop and integrate technologies for a prototype platooning system such that the defined strategies can be assessed under real world scenarios.

3. To demonstrate how the use of platoons can lead to environmental, safety and congestion improvements.

4. To illustrate how a new business model can be used to encourage the use of platoons with benefits to both lead vehicle operators and to platoon subscribers.

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Fuel savings and the environmental impact are not the only factors being considered. Safety benefits will arise from the reduction of accidents caused by driver action and driver fatigue. The utilization of existing road capacity will also be increased with a potential consequential reduction in journey times.

For users of the technology, the practical attractions of a smoother, more predictable and lower cost journey which offers the opportunity of additional free time will be considerable. The SARTRE project formally started in September 2009 and will run for a total of three years. http://www.sartre-project.eu/