A fleet of semi-automated trucks reached the Netherlands port city of Rotterdam, giving a glimpse into the future of road transport in Europe.

Six vehicle makers including Volvo and Daimler, took part in the European Truck Platooning challenge, which was held by the Dutch government.

Truck platooning is the term used when a fleet of driverless vehicles follow one another on the road and are wirelessly connected .

"Self-driving vehicles also contribute to road safety because most accidents are caused by human failure."

Beginning their journey from different corners of Europe, the self-driving trucks reached the Rotterdam port city around midday on Wednesday.

Arrival of the trucks ended the cross-border trial, which is claimed to be the first of its kind.

These trucks left factories in countries including Sweden and Germany.

The Dutch Infrastructure and Environment Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying: "Truck platooning will ensure cleaner and more efficient transport.

"Self-driving vehicles also contribute to road safety because most accidents are caused by human failure."

The benefit of truck platooning is that these vehicles can undertake a journey at a consistent speed, which in turn helps ease traffic on roads that are heavily congested.

Trucks that undertook the journey to Rotterdam city are semi-automated and had human drivers on board.

Several difficulties are still required to be cleared before self-driving trucks come on road.

Among these obstacles include standardisation of regulations across Europe and development of systems that allow communication between trucks made by different makers.