TxDOT assesses innovative operational strategies to position Texas as a leader in connected vehicle and automated vehicle (CV/AV) initiatives.
Byran, Texas, United States
Commercial Truck Platooning Demonstration in Texas Level 2 Automation
Summary Information
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) funded the creation of a comprehensive truck platooning demonstration in Texas and with assistance from Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). TTI investigated and documented lessons learned from past platooning projects; identified potential regulatory or legislative roadblocks that could hamper or facilitate introduction of platooning into commercial fleet operations; and explored the possible business cases and implementation scenarios within the existing infrastructure and operational environment. The TTI team also developed, tested, and demonstrated the platooning technology (proof-of-concept), which culminated in a full-scale demonstration workshop in July 2016 in College Station, Texas, to disseminate the results; capture insights, comments, and buy-in from stakeholders; and set the stage for further development and deployment on Texas roadways.
For this study, TTI conducted literature reviews of the state of practice of truck platooning, examined potential state and federal legislative hurdles, and performed modeling and simulation of truck platooning in a closed environment to determine quantifiable environmental and operational impacts of truck platooning. The final task as part of this study was a proof-of-concept demonstration in two class 8 commercial vehicles and a workshop on the state of practice of truck platooning and future panning activities.
Findings:
The study concluded that following benefits can be derived from truck platooning:
- Truck platooning can reduce fuel consumption by up to 12 percent on average. From the individual trucks’ viewpoint, the upper ranges of savings were observed at 40 percent for the follower and 20 percent for the leader in a platoon.
- Freeway capacity can be increased with platooning technology without any infrastructure expansion with two-vehicle platooning.
