A chain of cars with ' Adaptive Cruise Control'!
Cars are becoming more automated. Regularly there are new developedments that help the driver to control his vehicle. The most famous is the parking aid: the driver only needs to drive the car next to an empty parking stall and the rest goes without saying. Since a few years (2007) there is also the Adaptive Cruise control (ACC) which ensures that the distance between the car and its predecessor remains constant. And recently, there is a system that warns the driver if he leaves his lane (Lane Keeping Aid). Optionally the system corrects the driver: see this link.

Given the speed at which technology develops it is quite conceivable that cars equipped with such a system within a few years can drive autonomously on the highway, provided there are separate lanes for these cars.

Maybe it's a good idea to take this developments into account when we plan roadworks. If in a couple of years these works will have been completed, the ACC-technique will have become commonplace. Then these cars will be able to drive on autopilot completely in a responsible way. Probably even at full speed very close behind each other. The road will then be used in an optimal way so the likelihood of congestion decreases. The driver can relax during driving. Maybe even read the newspaper!

What adaptations will be necessary?

No electronic facilities will be necessary on the roads, because all the technology needed to operate the system will be present in the car itself. So only a few alterations on the road structure will suffice. For example, it is useful to give the special lane a separate color, so there is less chance that drivers accidentally join in.                                                                                     Read more >>