This week, several truck platoons have hit the road to the Netherlands, the destination of the first European Truck Platooning Challenge. The trucks of different manufacturers, among them the CAR 2 CAR members Volvo, Daimler and MAN, are equipped with state-of-the-art driving support systems and communication technology.

Starting from various European cities, they drive in connected automated platoons on public roads to the Netherlands. The CAR 2 CAR members report that the trucks have successfully covered the first stages of their trip, and that they attract great interest of the public, crowding around the trucks at their stops.

The European truck platooning challenge belongs to the Netherland’s presidency of the European Union in 2016. It is the first large scale demo project for truck platooning, making the benefits of smart vehicles technologies as well as cross-border interoperability visible to the public. It expresses the required collaboration of member states to bring truck platooning closer to implementation, with the related need for harmonising technical and policy issues. The trucks will land in Rotterdam on 6th April 2016, and will be also presented at the Intertraffic in Amsterdam in the following days.

More information on the European Truck Platooning Challenge website

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