# Self-Driving Autos Europe's SARTRE Project Creates a New Way to Travel By Chalaine Mantha | Published 2011-01-18 | Autos Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sartre-project References: [motorauthority](http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1053776_video-sartre-self-driving-road-train-conducts-first-test) & [sartre-project.eu](http://www.sartre-project.eu/en/Sidor/default.aspx) Europe's SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project is well underway after its first successful road test. The SARTRE project has created a new technology where vehicles will be able to drive themselves in long road trains on highways -- a practice called platooning. According to [Motor Authority](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nascar-experience), the SARTRE project's goal is to "improve traffic flow and journey times, offer greater comfort to drivers, [reduce accidents](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/driver-assistance-system), and improve fuel consumption and hence lower CO2 emissions." ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.0/10 - Popularity: 3% | Activity: 19% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Autos](https://www.trendhunter.com/autos) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Self-driving Vehicles:** Creating a new era of transportation, self-driving vehicles can improve traffic flow, reduce accidents, and offer greater comfort and safety to passengers. - **Connected Vehicles:** By allowing vehicles to communicate with each other through a connected network, traffic flow can be improved while reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. - **Smart Highways:** Integrating advanced technologies such as IoT, sensors, and AI can transform highways into safer and more efficient transportation networks. ### Who This Affects Most - **Automotive Industry:** Self-driving vehicles represent a disruptive innovation opportunity for automobile manufacturers and software companies to develop new products, services, and business models around this technology. - **Transportation and Logistics Industry:** Connected vehicles and smart highways can revolutionize the transportation and logistics industry by reducing traffic congestion, improving productivity, and increasing sustainability. - **Energy and Environment Industry:** Self-driving and connected vehicles, as well as smart highways, can help reduce carbon emissions and improve the sustainability of the energy and environment industry. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Partially Autonomous Touring EVs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/arcimoto.md) - [Luxury Self-Driving Cars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/drive-pilot.md) - [Autonomous Cabin-Free Shipping Trucks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/autonomous-electric-truck.md) - [Art Deco Self-Driving Vans](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tesla-robovan.md) - [Autonomous Farming Vehicles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/autonomous-multiterrain-tractor.md) - [Streamlined Two-Seater Electric Cars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/autonomous-electric-car-concept.md) - [Smart Mobility Vehicles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/strutt-ev1.md) - [Self-Driving Collaborative Trucks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/autonomous-truck-1.md) - [AI-Powered Autonomous Buses](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/autonomous-buses.md)