Semiautonomous tractor-trailers that can communicate with one another will be rolling down Arkansas highways together if a bill that got a nod from a legislative committee Thursday becomes law.
The concept of "truck platooning," in which one truck can control the speed and braking of one or two other trucks to save fuel, would be allowed under House Bill 1754.
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, told the House Public Transportation Committee that the bill will exempt trucks that are platooning from a state law requiring them to maintain at least 200 feet between them.
But the advanced, semiautonomous driving systems that will allow them to travel more closely together will also make the roads safer, he said.
"Think of platooning technology as the next generation of adaptive cruise control where cars can detect cars in front of you and automatically adjust your speed," Collins said.
"What this enables for trucking fleets is the ability to have a vehicle that may be in front actually setting that type of speed modulation and then controlling the speed of the vehicle behind it to optimize following distance, stopping, things of that nature."
A small coalition of members within the Arkansas Trucking Association are interested in deploying the technology, said Shannon Newton, the association's president.
If the bill becomes law, Newton said she wouldn't expect to see the technology deployed immediately and instead see a "a very slow implementation" involving pilot programs and testing over the next couple of years.
The legislation is needed to begin the testing, however, she said.
The technology will not eliminate the human element, Collins said.
"What this does not do is take drivers out of the picture," he said. "What this does not do is replace physical drivers with technology. It just provides one more tool for trucking companies to optimize fuel and to optimize safety.
"Many states do not need this type of enabling legislation. But in states like Arkansas that have specific statutes for following distances, in order to move forward with this modern technology, we need this enabling legislation in our state."
The bill as originally drafted was much broader and covered autonomous technology in the automobile industry. But Newton said the many stakeholders involved in the effort were unable to agree on the specific language. As a result, the bill was amended in committee Wednesday to limit the bill to the platooning technology.
"It was really expansive and put Arkansas at the forefront of enabling self-driving cars and creating the legislation to do that," Collins said. "This amended draft reduces the scope of the bill but moves us in the right direction."
Vehicle-to-vehicle communication consists of the wireless transmission of information between vehicles on the road about things such as speed, position and traffic information.
Electronically linking up to three trucks so they can follow closely behind one another safely reduces aerodynamic drag and saves fuel. In 2015 the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that a team of two platooned vehicles can reduce fuel use by up to 6.4 percent.
Instead of driving 200 feet apart as state law requires now, using the technology will allow trucks to drive safely within 75 feet to 125 feet of each other depending on traffic conditions, according to Newton. The technology also will disengage when another vehicle, such as a car, gets in between the trucks, she said.
Emma N. Hurt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette contributed to this article.
Business on 03/17/2017