Cooperative truck platooning in Ontario

Cooperative platooning is when two or three vehicles equipped with driving support systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications are driven together as a group.

Driving support systems technologies include advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that can assist human drivers with either steering and/or braking/accelerating.

Vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) technologies allow vehicles to wirelessly exchange information such as the speed and position of surrounding vehicles.

By being able to communicate with each other, vehicles have the potential to travel closer together in a safer manner.

In the Cooperative Truck Platooning Pilot, every truck in the platoon is operated by a licensed driver who has received training specific to the system they are engaged with and who can take control of the vehicle at any time.

Truck platooning has the potential to improve the flow of traffic, move goods more efficiently, reduce fuel consumption, and drive economic growth and investment.

About the pilot

Ontario’s Cooperative Truck Platooning Pilot Program launched on January 1, 2019 and allows for the testing of connected trucking technologies.

Participants must follow certain program conditions such as:

  • having a licensed driver with 5 years of driving experience and a clean driver’s abstract in each vehicle
  • mandatory carrier-operator qualifications
  • only operating along certain routes

Signage

Cooperative truck platoons must have signs clearly displayed on the rear of all platooning vehicles:

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platooning vehicle

 

Participants are required to follow certain specifications so that the signs are easy to spot on the road and are highly reflective during both day and night.

Authorized network for travel

Testing is limited to sections of highways that have the safest conditions, are controlled access, multi-lane, and divided (often referred to as freeways, expressways and parkways). This is referred to as the authorized network for travel.

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Truck platooning map

Primary Cooperative Truck Platooning Authorized Network. View a larger version of this map (JPG).

The authorized testing network consists of:

  • Highway 401 – Windsor (Provincial Road) to Tilbury (Essex Road 42) – 40 km
  • Highway 401 - Sweaburg Road to Veterans Memorial Parkway – 37 km
  • Highway 403 – Brantford (Oak Park Road) to Woodstock (Oxford Road 55) – 25 km
  • Highway 401 - Homer Watson Boulevard to Oxford Road – 35 km
  • Highway 400 - Rankin Lake Road to MacTier – 24 km
  • Highway 11 – Highway 124 to Burks Falls – 42 km
  • Highway 401 – Carmen Road to Upper Canada Road – 19 km

Maintaining a safe following distance

One of the key features of cooperative truck platooning is that all vehicles can travel closer together. Participants must adjust their following distance depending on their speed.

Speed [km/h] Speed [m/s] Following time [s] Following distance [m]
100 27.8 1.7 47.3
90 25.0 1.7 42.5
80 22.2 1.7  37.7
70 19.4 1.7 33.0
60 16.7 1.7 28.3
50 13.9 1.7 24.6
40 11.1 1.8 20.0
30 8.3 2.4 20.0
20 5.6 3.6 20.0
10 2.8 7.1 20.0
0 0 0 20.0

Program eligibility

Eligible applicants for the pilot include:

  • carriers
  • original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
  • technology providers
  • academic or research institutions
  • manufacturers of parts, systems, equipment or components for automated driving systems
  • manufacturers and software developers of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)
  • manufacturers of equipment and parts for heavy trucks

How to apply

Read the program conditions to make sure you can meet the requirements of the pilot before applying.

To apply for the pilot, email Platooning.Monitoring@ontario.ca for an application form.

Program conditions

Read the full program conditions, including the following topics:

  1. Overview of the program
  2. General conditions
  3. Safe operation
  4. Vehicle configuration types
  5. Cooperative truck platoon restrictions
  6. Inclement weather/visibility/road
  7. Carrier qualifications
  8. Driver qualifications
  9. Areas of operation
  10. Rest/emergency stops
  11. Truck Inspection Stations (TIS)
  12. Data reporting and evaluation
  13. Notification of collisions/incidents/infractions
  14. Cargo restrictions
  15. Special equipment requirements
  16. Rear signage requirements
  17. Speed restriction
  18. Speed recording device
  19. Revocation of approval
  20. Cybersecurity declaration