Truck Platooning Technology Advances, But Some Are Skeptical
Aug 27, 2016
By Clarissa Hawes
Old-school truckers brag about how closely they have tailgated, or drafted, behind another big rig as a way to catch a slipstream and save fuel. Now technology is about to take that to the next level.
Truck manufacturers and vendors are investing heavily in technology that would allow trucks to safely draft off one another.
So-called platoon technology allows tightly contained, digitally connected packs of two to five trucks to drive in formation to reduce wind resistance and increase fuel efficiency. The pack can be controlled by a “captain” in the cab of the front vehicle, with the rest following with their own drivers or eventually, autonomously.