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NEXCO EAST (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) will continue from last year and conduct further driver changeover trials at the outbound lane of Sano SA (service area) on the E4 Tohoku Expressway from Tuesday, December 16th to Thursday, March 19th, in order to resolve the issue of Out-bound-term parking due to resting (sleeping in cars) at SA/PAs, reduce long working hours for truck drivers, and comply with upper working hour regulations. In cooperation with Sagawa Express Co., Ltd., verification will be conducted to secure a place for driver changeovers year-round, with a view to fully implementing driver changeovers for long-distance transport.

Experimental Overview

The demonstration experiment will cover long-distance transportation over a distance of 680 km from Kansai (Kyoto Prefecture) to Tohoku (Fukushima Prefecture).

2024 During the demonstration test from September 28 (Sat.) to October 4 (Fri.), it was confirmed that there were no safety issues for the drivers taking turns or for other vehicles, and that the system was effective in reducing transportation time and the burden on the drivers by reducing their truck driving time. The elimination of the need to drive on public roads has shortened truck operations by approximately 12 km or 30 minutes. This reduced the risk of accidents on public roads and contributed to a reduction of approximately 7.49 kg of CO (annualized reduction of approximately 1.9 tons).
As in the previous year, this experiment will be conducted using the "driver change system," in which drivers take turns in the SA. While last year's experiment used administrative spaces, this experiment will utilize existing parking spaces.
By conducting the experiment during the winter period, which is affected by snowfall and other factors, we will once again verify the safety of the system, its impact on road management, its impact on logistics operators' operational management, and other issues that need to be addressed before its full-scale introduction.

Driver change location (Sano SA Out-bound)

• In principle, the experiment will use existing parking spaces, with one parking space restricted.

Drivers will enter the SA using the parking lot outside and the walk-in gate, but this is a temporary demonstration experiment and we have confirmed that it will not cause any problems in terms of road management. When the system is fully operational, operational rules will be formulated and organized.

We are looking for logistics companies who wish to conduct verification tests at Sano SA and other SAs and PAs to improve logistics efficiency. Please contact East Nippon Expressway Co., Ltd. (Customer Center) for inquiries.