NEXCO East Japan will conduct a demonstration experiment aimed at full-scale implementation of driver swaps for long-distance transportation.
The initiative is intended to address issues such as long-term parking due to overnight stays in vehicles at expressway service areas (SA) and parking areas (PA), reduce long working hours for drivers, and comply with regulations that cap total working hours. By lessening the burden on drivers, the measure is also expected to help reduce the risk of accidents.
The demonstration will be carried out at the Sano Service Area (SA) outbound (toward Tohoku) on the Tohoku Expressway from December 16 until March 19, 2026. Operations will be suspended from December 27 to January 13. Sagawa Express will cooperate in the trial.
Truck drivers traveling from the Kansai region to the Tohoku region will swap drivers at Sano SA. The working time under restraint will be approximately 13 hours and approximately 3 hours, and the reduction in actual driving time is expected to ease the drivers’ burden. This is the second such experiment; while the previous trial used a management-only space, this one will use existing parking spaces.
By including the winter period, when operations are affected by snowfall and other conditions, the company aims to re-verify safety and identify issues for full-scale introduction, such as the impact on road management and on transport operators’ operation management.
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