Conor
Ooh, let's see, something like SPECS?
Measure the distance between trucks as they come through the first camera. Then look at where they are after the second. If they've changed position but are still almost exactly the same distance apart the one in front must have overtaken with a stupidly low speed difference.
For *genuinely* read *more than 0.1mph* slower....
Lets say you have a differential of 1.8km-h, that's half a metre-second (hence the strange but reasonable numbers ;-).
If the change in position from behind to in front is, say, 25m (from 5m behind, past a 15m artic, then 5m in front, all conservative numbers I think) then that will take 50 seconds.
If the front truck is doing 88km-h (55ish) then that means the overtake will have lasted 1.2 km. Even buttuming the lorries can change lane instantly, which we are buttured they can't.
If you expand it a bit to give sensible distances between the lorries, then they spend over a minute, during which time L2 slows from about 65 (typical busy but not clogged Mway speeds) to 55. Many new lane changes will take place solely because of it, and lane changing is the number one cause of added risk on Motorways over steady traffic.
high.
Why can't trucks just have a vehicle-following cruise control so they just tag along behind each other?
Oh yes - it takes them a fraction off max efficiency and costs a few seconds and a few litres over the course of a day, so we can't have that. Much better to inconvenience *everybody* else.
