Volvo: Car trains will happen 25 | 05 | 2011

ROAD TRAINS — the system by which a lead vehicle sets a pace on motorways that other cars can communicate with and connect to, leaving the speed and steering to the lead vehicle — will be a feature on Europe’s roads by the end of the decade; that's the view of Volvo’s senior safety engineer Thomas Broberg.

The Volvo safety boss believes road trains are a step towards fully autonomous cars, technology that Volvo is also researching. He confirmed that closed-road trials had already successfully got two cars attached to a road train and revealed Volvo will be conducting field trials in Sweden by the end of the year.

“Road trains allow a driver to use their time better, drive safer, reduce congestion and improve the environment,” he said. “You’re always following another car, so why not let the driving be done by someone else?”

But he also conceded there were legal and social issues surrounding road trains and autonomous vehicles, and added: “Until you try it, you cannot grasp these issues.”

We at Scotcars think road trains are nothing more than a gimmick. Why would they ever work? And why would you ever allow yourself to become attached to something which you have no control over on a motorway.

The science might make sense, but the reality is something entirely different. There is no prospect of road trains ever being introduced in Scotland and the rest of the UK. It simply is not going to happen.

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Jim McGill