Enabling Safe and Sustainable Medical Deliveries by Connected Autonomous Freight Vehicles Operating within Dangerous Goods Regulations

Abstract

Health service providers in developed nations are responsible for 5% of their national carbon emissions, much of which originate from transport and supply chains. Connected autonomous freight vehicles (CAV-Fs) offer the potential to reduce this impact and enable lower cost operations, with trials being explored across the world. Transportation and carriage regulations, particularly in relation to the movement of dangerous goods (DG) such as medicines and diagnostic specimens, have not been developed for and applied to this new transport mode, particularly where loads are unaccompanied. Through an audit of current legislation and practice, this paper evaluates current DGs regulations applied to the transportation of medical products and medicines by autonomous road vehicles. Where existing regulations are not appropriate for CAV-Fs, recommendations and adaptations have been proposed to support safe and practical application. Remote monitoring and tracking of vehicles are critical for ensuring load security, quick and effective incident response, and management of documents and communications between parties. Loading/unloading procedures are significantly more important than in crewed vehicles, with load segregation and recording of all activity being of key importance. Other recommendations relate to training provision, vehicle specifications, and product health monitoring.