Using a self-driving truck to follow a manned vehicle during “moving work zone” operations could help prevent roadway worker injuries, results of a recent study show.

Moving work zones involve crews completing work from a series of vehicles. According to the University of Missouri Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the last vehicle in the line faces highest risk of involvement in an incident…

Under this configuration, an operator in the leader vehicle uses a tablet to control the follower truck, setting the vehicle’s speed and maintaining its following distance. The controls also allow for stopping the follower vehicle – equipped with detection systems for front and side obstacles – in emergencies…

The researchers received responses from 43 state departments of transportation after conducting a nationwide survey about the use of autonomous work vehicles. Four states – Colorado, Missouri, North Dakota and Rhode Island – are using or in the process of implementing the leader-follower method, while 19 are exploring the system.