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Researchers in the European Union are using telematics to create “road trains” that join the benefits of carpooling with the freedom of driving alone. The latest concept, part of the EU’s Safe Road Trains for the Environment initiative, groups cars with similar destinations into road trains over long stretches of highway. The lead vehicle will be driven by an experienced motorist — it may even be a bus that regularly travels the route — while the functions of each following vehicle will be automatically controlled and tethered to the actions of the lead car so that individual drivers can hammer out e-mails or eat breakfast. Despite the project’s name, cars can exit at any time. (via With Road Trains, Highways Become Public Transportation | Autopia | Wired.com
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