Federal Highway Administration showcases truck platooning technology

The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has conducted the first of a two-day demonstration of three-truck platoons on I-66 in Virginia. The results of a four-year research project to test the effectiveness of state-of-the-art driving and communications technologies were showcased at the event. Truck platooning uses vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology to allow trucks to follow each other more closely – at about one second apart – and travel in a more coordinated fashion.
September 15, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has conducted the first of a two-day demonstration of three-truck platoons on I-66 in Virginia. The results of a four-year research project to test the effectiveness of state-of-the-art driving and communications technologies were showcased at the event.


Truck platooning uses vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology to allow trucks to follow each other more closely – at about one second apart – and travel in a more coordinated fashion.

While various aspects of truck platooning have been studied for years, FHWA’s Exploratory Advance Research program has taken testing to new levels with the addition of cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) technology, which adds vehicle-to-vehicle communications to the adaptive cruise control capability now available in new vehicles. This connectivity allows trucks to operate more smoothly as a unit, reducing and controlling the gaps between vehicles.

The demonstration involved partially automated trucks – which are not driverless, and used professional drivers. The advanced technology that makes platooning possible is meant to supplement, not replace, the nation’s commercial motor vehicle operators.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • August 6, 2013
    Amsterdam Group turn ITS theory into practice
    ASECAP’s Marko Jandrisits discusses the Amsterdam Group’s efforts to bring a sense of order to cooperative ITS deployments. When an issue arises which is deemed to require a technological solution governments and public-sector agencies around the world all too often tread the same sorry path. A decision is made to research and develop said technology to the production-ready stage, the work is done and the technology realised but then the money for deployment runs out and the technology is left on the shelf
    Read More
  • February 1, 2012
    Next Generation 911, updating the US 911 emergency system
    Continuing developments in telecommunications and public expectation have left the US's legacy, analogue 911 emergency call system trailing. Linda D. Dodge, Public Safety Program Manager for the ITS programme in USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, the sponsor of the Next Generation 911 initiative, writes about efforts towards updating
    Read More
  • October 8, 2012
    Iteris to provide on-call services to Federal Highway Administration
    Iteris, US-based supplier of intelligent traffic management solutions, has been selected to provide on-call task-order based services to the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Two contracts, for support services for the Office of Operations include: Operations and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), and Traffic Incident and Events Management will be released over a period of up to five years. Iteris will have the opportunity to compete, with a small group of other selected providers, on each t
    Read More
  • August 12, 2015
    Satellite-based truck tolling provides Slovak solution
    Slovakia opted for a satellite-based tolling system and following last year’s enlargement it now has the European Union’s largest truck user charging system.
    Read More

Highlighted Content