Exclusive: Feds award major truck platooning contract to California PATH

California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology (PATH), a research and development program of the University of California, Berkeley, was selected from among three research organizations that participated in Phase 1 of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Truck Platooning Early Deployment Assessment, a U.S. Department of Transportation official confirmed to FreightWaves. FHWA has not yet formally announced the selection.

California PATH partners in the project include Volvo Group [CXE: VOLVB.S.IX], I-10 Corridor Coalition, California Highway Patrol, Cambridge Systematics, and Westat…

While the private sector has been conducting independent truck-platooning field tests for several years – including initiatives by Peloton and Locomation – the FHWA-sponsored early deployment project is significant because of its potential for influencing future federal safety and operational guidelines and regulations. “System-wide impacts and the impact on truck drivers, fleet owners, and light-duty vehicle drivers still need to be assessed for operational and safety impacts,” according to FHWA.
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