A new platoon control concept is introduced, called Back Control, in w
hich the controller of a given vehicle utilizes state information from
the lead, preceding, and following vehicles, as well as the vehicle i
tself. Simulations are carried out on two non-steady state platoon ope
rations - vehicle exit and vehicle entry from a platoon. A previously
developed longitudinal controller is utilized as a reference to the pr
oposed Back controller and a ride quality index is used to assess pass
enger comfort in these simulations. It is shown that the Back controll
er has advantages over the reference controller in these two operation
s and that it is therefore worth examining as a candidate controller o
f vehicular platoons, especially in non-nominal operations.