Partial Automation for Truck Platooning

Shladover, Steven E.; Lu, Xiao-Yun; Yang, Shiyan; Ramezani, Hani; Spring, John; Nowakowski, Christopher; Nelson, David; Thompson, Deborah; Kailas, Aravind; McAuliffe, Brian; Glover, K. Daniel · 2019 · ROSA P / United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology

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Summary

This research summary report details a project conducted by California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology (PATH) at the University of California-Berkeley, sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The study investigated the potential benefits of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) for truck platooning, a form of partial automation where trucks communicate wirelessly to maintain stable, close-following formations. The primary objectives were to evaluate the technology’s ability to improve traffic flow stability, alleviate congestion, reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and assess driver acceptance of the system. The researchers retrofitted three Class A long-haul trucks with a CACC system built upon existing Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) hardware. Key additions included Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) radios for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, a PC-104 computer for control logic, and enhanced GPS. The system allowed following trucks to maintain constant time gaps (ranging from 0.6 to 1.8 seconds) rather than fixed distances, adjusting spacing proportionally to speed. The study employed a mixed-methods approach involving closed-track testing, public road demonstrations, driver acceptance trials, and traffic microsimulation. Road tests were conducted in California, Quebec, Canada, and Virginia. In Quebec, researchers specifically measured fuel efficiency using standard trailers versus those equipped with aerodynamic side skirts and boat tails. For driver acceptance, nine commercial truck drivers operated the platoons on California interstates, logging 168 miles each and completing post-drive questionnaires. Simulations modeled heavy truck traffic on Interstate 710 in Southern California to assess system-level impacts. The findings demonstrated that CACC enabled trucks to travel more closely and react safely to cut-in vehicles by automatically widening gaps. Fuel efficiency tests in Quebec revealed that CACC alone reduced energy use by an average of 5% for following trucks; when combined with aerodynamic trailer enhancements, savings reached up to 14%. Driver feedback indicated high comfort and confidence with the technology in mixed traffic, though drivers tended to disengage CACC on steep grades or in heavy merging traffic. Simulation results showed that introducing CACC-equipped trucks into congested traffic increased truck throughput by nearly 6% and average truck speed by 19.3%, with residual benefits for passenger vehicles. The study concludes that CACC represents a viable, relatively low-cost step toward advanced truck automation, offering significant operational and environmental benefits. The research suggests that the greatest traffic flow improvements would occur on moderately congested urban highways with heavy truck presence. These findings support further multi-state field tests and policy assessments to determine the broader safety and operational impacts of long-haul truck platooning.

Key finding

CACC-equipped truck platoons achieved a 19.3 percent increase in average truck speed and a 6 percent rise in throughput in simulations, while road tests demonstrated a 5 percent average energy reduction for standard trailers and up to 14 percent with aerodynamic enhancements.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Sample size: 3

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

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