Automated cars coming to road near you

Cars and trucks that can drive themselves might still seem a little far fetched, but a new form of automated vehicle technology could be in the lane next to you soon.

On April 22, an amendment to the state Vehicle Code, Act 117-Platooning and Highly Automated Vehicles, went into effect. It permits two or three commercial trucks, buses or military vehicles to use an automated driving system to platoon, Kara Templeton, director of the PennDOT Bureau of Driver Licensing, explained at a transportation summit held recently at Kalahari Resorts in Pocono Manor.

A platoon is a group of vehicles traveling with each other. Automated driving systems allow these vehicles to “traveling in a unified manner at electronically coordinated speeds at following distances that are closer than would be reasonable and prudent without the coordination,” as stated in the Act.

“There is no minimum spacing, outside of bridges,” Templeton said about the law that requires a minimum of 40 feet headway going over bridges.

“When we receive a request, they must include their headways, route, and some key information about the vehicles. From that, we will determine if the approach is deemed safe,” she said.

A European study called the SARTRE project (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) found in 2012 that four fully-autonomous cars could successfully follow a lead vehicle at spacing less than 20 feet at a speed of 52 miles per hour.

Templeton anticipates the vehicles in Pennsylvania will not travel as closely.

“Most platooning demonstrations on public roads have been with 40-plus feet headways,” she said.

The three-year study in Europe was a collaborative effort between companies based in Sweden, Germany and Spain, and tested on roadways in Spain.

Linda Wahlström, the project manager for the SARTRE project at Volvo Car Corp., said in a news release, “We’ve focused really hard on changing as little as possible in existing systems. Everything should function without any infrastructure changes to the roads or expensive additional components in the cars. Apart from the software developed as part of the project, it is really only the wireless network installed between the cars that set them apart from other cars available in showrooms today.”

The driver-assistive vehicle platooning technology PennDOT plans to use works by integrating sensor array, wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communications, active safety systems, and specialized software in order to link safety systems and synchronize acceleration and braking between vehicles, it said in a report.

Nearby highways

Templeton said Act 117 was passed unanimously and signed by the governor on Oct. 24, 2018. There are several restrictions included in the Act.

Platooning is only allowed to be used on designated limited access highways and interstate highways, unless the company obtains a permit from PennDOT or the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Locally, the roadways where platooning is permitted include: Interstate 78, 80, 81, 84, 380 and 476 (the Turnpike), and routes 33 and 22.

Dos and don’ts

The technology has to be disengaged when other vehicles need to enter or exit the highway or if a vehicle cuts in between the platooning vehicles. They must also disengage when they enter a weight station or drive through a toll plaza, and drive on a roadway with a hazardous-grade speed limit.

They are also not allowed to use the technology with tractor-trailers that carry livestock, oversize or overweight loads, automobiles or boats, fluids, hazardous materials, or pipes, lumber and other loose loads.

The vehicles cannot be truck and pole combinations, lowboy tractor and trailer combinations, or saddlemount with or without full-mount combinations. School buses and school vehicles are also not allowed to platoon.

Platooning is not allowed on snow or ice covered roads, roads with reduced visibility, and in construction zones. PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission are permitted to use platooning of their own vehicles within an active work zone.

Each vehicle in the platoon is required to place a sticker identifying it as such on the driver side and passenger side of the power unit, according to the Act.

The purpose of the sticker is to alert law enforcement that the vehicle is capable of being platooned or is platooned, Templeton said. She showed an example of one of the stickers at the transportation summit.

The sticker has the front of three vehicles, one behind the other, with a “sound wave symbol” around it.

The serialized stickers are 6-by-6-inches and must be placed near other federal and state regulated decals and stickers.

Applicants wanted

PennDOT is currently seeking companies that want to apply to use platooning.

The company must file a plan for general platooning operations with PennDOT. PennDOT will review it, consult with the Pennsylvania State Police and the Turnpike Commission, were applicable, and will notify the applicant of approval within 30 days of receipt of the plan.

“We have not received a request to platoon yet,” Templeton said. “A couple of organizations have expressed their interest, but they have not proceeded yet.”

Driver guidelines

Although the vehicles are controlled by one lead driver, “each platooning vehicle must have a driver in each vehicle,” she said.

At this time, there are no special driver’s licenses for operating an automated vehicle in a platoon. A commercial driver’s license is enough, but drivers will need to be informed on how to use the technology.