According to recent reports, “tens of thousands” of fully autonomous, self-driving tractor-trailers are set to begin driving on public roads within several years. As soon as this year, Texas is set to have 20 driverless trucks on its streets, demonstrating the pace at which self-driving technology is evolving.
The Pennsylvania-based company Aurora Innovation Inc. has been building self-driving tractor-trailers and aspires to introduce them on American roads at scale. Reportedly, the company’s trucks have hauled over one million miles since 2021, only experiencing three crashes allegedly the fault of other human drivers.
“Within three or four years, Aurora and its competitors expect to put thousands [of] self-driving trucks on America’s public freeways,” according to a report from CBS News. “The goal is for the trucks, which can run nearly around the clock without breaks, to speed the flow of goods, accelerating delivery times.”
Aurora Innovation Inc. CEO Chris Urmson noted the scale at which he anticipates his company to roll out the fully autonomous 18-wheelers. “We want to be out there with thousands or tens of thousands of trucks on the road,” said Urmson. “And to do that, we have to be safe. It’s the only way that the public will accept it. Frankly, it’s the only way our customers will accept it.”
However, the company has only tested the self-driving trucks on simulated roads at lower speeds or on public roads with humans on board as a backup safety measure. Aurora seeks to have at least 20 driverless trucks on Interstate 45 between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2024.
Despite the optimism and eagerness from Aurora, many citizens have expressed concern about the safety of sharing the road with these trucks. According to recent polling data from AAA, 66 percent of Americans fear self-driving vehicles, and 25 percent have uncertainty about them. Moreover, some have noted a lack of federal safety regulations for fully autonomous vehicles.
In light of these concerns, Urmson maintains that Aurora will not compromise safety, prioritizing the integrity of its technology over profit. Corroborating this assertion, the company is forecasted to become profitable until late 2027 or early 2028. “If we put a vehicle on the road that isn’t sufficiently safe — that we aren’t confident in the safety of — then it kills everything else,” Urmson emphasized earlier this year.
Furthermore, Urmson eased fears that Aurora’s technology would begin wiping out the jobs of existing truck drivers in the industry. He suggested that anyone currently driving for a living will retire doing so. “If you’re driving a truck today,” said Urmson, “my expectation is you’re going to be able to retire driving a truck.”
Regardless of the rapid development of this technology, many have expressed concern about sharing the road with a driverless 18-wheeler. “It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen,” said one Oklahoma man. “I’ve heard of the driverless cars – Tesla, what have you – and the accidents they’ve been having. Eighteen-wheelers? Something that heavy, relying on technology that has proven it can be faulty? Doesn’t sound very comfortable to me.”
Featured image credit: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colorful_Semi-Trucks.jpg
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