I was thinking along the same path. The following drivers are likely to be eating, reading the paper or even taking a nap. But I’ve come up with a simple solution: replace them with robots.[^o)]
That’s the goal… platooning is only a stop gap to full automation.
A freight train that still has 5 to 8 times the rolling resistance of a steel wheel on a steel rail.
All this long distance truck traffic should be “piggyback”, to use an outdated term.
Highways would be safer, way less fuel used, fewer stupid people in little cars causing accidents by cutting off trucks that are too big and too heavy.
We could go back to 35’ or 40’ trailers for local/regional delivery, unclog the Interstates and local roads, save billions in highway maintenence and un-needed upgrades.
They should have deregulated trucking and railroading in 1950, not 1980…this problem might have fixed itself before it even happened.
The world really has lost its mind…
Sheldon
The rolling resistence argument is overstated. Sure, the flanged wheel is more efficient than the rubber tire, but you’re constrained to 3% grades, and the miles add up when you have to go around instead of over the top.
I’m not in the mood for any more arguments on here, but every set of numbers I have ever seen gives the train 5 times the ton/mile fuel economy of a truck.
Not to mention the safety and other factors sighted above - if any common sense was in play - the train wins this one - but common sense has been outlawed by…
So I promise, I will shut up now.
Sheldon
And what happens to the drivers of those Smart For 2 cars that decide to exit between trucks? I can hear the “driver/rider/sandwich muncher” saying “Gee, this is a bumpy road”. They wont even know they’ve run over one. [:O]
Nothing wrong with a good argument… I like both modes and earn my living with one… The sheer number of trucks on the road tells me there must be some kind of advantage to trucking… just sayin…
A detail that remains to be worked out… [swg]
Well, door-to-door delivery is a challenge for the rails.
And the phrase “NOTHNG CAN GO WRONG, GO WRONG, GO WRONG…” comes to mind.
Also the New Yorker cartoon showing a plane crash with the plot parashooting and people rushing toward the crash site, while an engineer walks away with the caption “Well, back to the drawing board”
Ahhh those troublesome details.
So far I haven’t heard any argument against triples that doesn’t also apply to platoons.
Weather affects both, 4 wheelers affect both, first mile/last mile affects both etc etc etc.
And even so, assuming platooning catches on, how long till triples get platooned?
Norm, I completely forgot about Australian road trains. And while Australia is fairly flat, and traffic free, they still do get weather.
Yup, there’s weather everywhere on Earth… we can all agree on that.
On doubles/triples/road trains etc… haul them for awhile and have a look at your tractor from time to time. You’ll notice alot more wear and tear… I know… who would have thought hooking three heavy trailers to that poor old thing would stress the frame and drive train THAT much. [swg]
Wear and tear affects all things mechanical. But wouldn’t you rather have to replace one $150000 unit a year than 2 or 3 $200000 units every two years?
1st why is there even a Long Distance OTR industry. We provide a Faster Service based on time and with less handling than IM loads. My carrier hauls a lot of hazardous materials and we offer 2 day serivice anywhere in the eastern 2/3rds of the USA from our HQ. That means 2 morning after a trailer is loaded we can be anywhere in that area of about 1400 miles away. This industry also offers 3 day coast to coast serivce for anyone that wants it. Meaning 3 days with a team we can cross this nation and deliver your freight anyplace in the lower 48 states. My husband and his father used to run produce between Salinas CA and Greencastle PA in less than 48 hours total time all the time for one carrier.
With IM trains your looking at a 2 day delay for both the making up and breaking up of the trains on both ends. Meaning a good hard running solo can beath a IM train from LA to Chicago on serivce speed. You want an example my comapny has its custom mixing plant 90 miles south of the BNSF Corwith IM yard in Chicago. Now say we were willing to run CA for our customer he is near LA and we used ship trailers to San Bernadino for unloading. We had to be in the Corwith IM yard 3 hours before train left to make cut off. Now if our driver was taking the load to LA he would have been out of IL and into MO in the 5 hours that we had to wait for the train to be made up and pull out. Now in the time the train was running in its first day. Our driver before his 11 hour drive time ended he was into OK almost to OKC before he ran out of time. They normally stop in Chandler for their 10 hour break. They then can make Chambers AZ the next day. They take their next 10 and make LA the next day. Oh before you say it is impossible to do it my husband has made this run himself back in the late 90’s back to back. He would run St Louis to LA and back in less than a week.
To respond to Norm48327’s question with a brief example of whar ca
But we can build bigger and more powerful tractors. One rubber tired locomotive with a steering wheel would do the trick. [swg]
The cab top aero device! How much better is the fuel economy of tractors using it vs. those that don’t use it?
Lets take it one logical step further, lesson from the PA Turnpike, Smart for 2 decides to run rocking chair between the lead and the second truck. Of course without the use of the turn signal. Interesting what the CPUs in truck two, three, and four will do. Interesting situation for the programmers out there.
[quote user=“samfp1943”]
Ulrich
Norm48327
OK, next question:
What if one of the computers in the following rigs decides to punch out for lunch at 60 MPH on a curve in heavy traffic? Yeah, the driver is supposed to take over, right? Chances are he’s eating a sandwich. Doesn’t that render the point of platooning moot? The dudes in the following trucks are getting paid whether they’re driving or not. Savings?
Photo sequence found on this URL @ http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh-county/index.ssf/2016/12/fatal_crash_on_route_222_draws.html
Again, my previous point, was that people react within their own experiences when presented with a ‘situation’ in traffic; a computer will react in the manner to its programming… Then the appropriate ‘physics’ response takes over…
Details that remain to be worked out… which is why platooning isn’t happening yet. Drivers in trailing vehicles will be paid a fraction of what a driver who is expected to be in full control of his/her vehicle gets. Likely drivers will take turns being the lead truck. While non leading drivers will be able to get rest or in some cases plan their next loads/get other stuff done. Yes, we trust in the technology to work just as we do now. When you turn the steering wheel in your car you’re confident that the car will turn. In the same way people will come to trust the platooning technology…(or maybe not
Hauling a box, fuel economy is noticeably better…all other factors being equal, you’re looking at savings of 1% to 3%. Hauling flatbed, the roof fairing doesn’t provide the same benefits as loads are often lower than the fairing and, of course, no savings are realized when the unit is driven without a load. Regardless of fairings, one saves the most by driving slowly, 52 mph to 60 mph on the highway.