Proof-of-Concept Development for a Weight-to- Speed System on Heavy Goods Vehicles

Heavy Good Vehicles (HGVs) can cause several problems for road user’s world-wide. One of the main issues found in the UK is that when one HGV is trying to overtake another on a motorway (freeway), the 56mph speed limit imposed means that the time to complete this task is substantial. This forces other road users to use the overtaking lane and causes a bottleneck, increasing road rage and the risk of accidents. Presented here is a proof-of-concept system that could theoretically allow a lighter loaded HGV to travel slightly faster and reduce the overtaking time, thus helping eliminate the bottleneck. The system uses a microcontroller that can be used to take odometer measurements from the driving wheels and weight sensors in the cargo area, to be able to alter the top speed achievable. In this situation a load cell is used to simulate the measured load on the lorry and a stepper motor and variable resistor to represent the engine and accelerator. How such a system could be implemented in a real-world environment is also discussed.