'Driverless' lorry test on UK roads next year

Semi-autonomous lorries will be on British roads by the end of next year, in a government-funded trial.

The lorries will travel in "platoons" of three vehicles synced together by wireless technology, with the human driver in the lead vehicle controlling braking and acceleration for all three.

The two heavy goods vehicles at the back will match the pace of the lead automatically but will be steered by human drivers. In case of emergency, the drivers will be able to take over all three lorries.

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Transport Minister Paul Maynard said: "Advances such as lorry platooning could benefit businesses through cheaper fuel bills and other road users thanks to lower emissions and less congestion."

"But first we must make sure the technology is safe and works well on our roads and that's why we are investing in these trials", he added.

Similar trials in America suggest the lorries "could travel in convoy with less than a one second gap", says The Times, as longer distances may cause other road users to enter the convoy and break the connection.

However, AA president Edmund King said on Twitter the government "should spend research money on electrifying HGVs rather than on HGV platoons which in [the] UK have minimal benefit or any due to congestion".

Nevertheless, the Department of Transport told the BBC that the tests are on course to begin at the end of 2018.