Autonomous trucking is becoming more mainstream on highways across the United States. To date, at least five states have deployed autonomous trucks on their roads. However, already there’s been growing opposition from labor groups and public safety officials.
While some believe autonomous trucks could make roads safer and reduce shipping costs while addressing persistent driver shortages, others feel the technology threatens hundreds of thousands of jobs. There's also concerns that the technology has not yet demonstrated it can safely handle every real-world situation that will be encountered on American highways. And how does this impact the independent drivers and operators who work on a contract basis?” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek.
Commercial freight transportation is a critical part of the U.S. economy, with millions of deliveries moving across the country every day. If autonomous trucking becomes widespread, it could reshape supply chains and labor markets in addition to the trucking industry itself. Several states have become major hubs for autonomous truck testing and deployment, including: According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, autonomous vehicle legislation has been introduced in dozens of states looking at operator requirements, liability and testing.
Teamsters California filed a lawsuit this month challenging California's autonomous truck regulations, arguing that state officials failed to adequately evaluate the economic consequences of allowing driverless heavy-duty trucks. Finn also called self-driving trucks an "existential threat" to drivers' livelihoods. Similar legal battles are emerging in other states.
However, bills requiring a human operator inside autonomous trucks have failed in Delaware, Indiana, Maryland and Texas, and governors in California and Colorado vetoed similar legislation. Safety is one of the biggest unresolved issues when it comes to autonomous trucking. A March poll from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety found that 85 percent of respondents were concerned about sharing the road with autonomous trucks.
Mistakes involving fully loaded tractor-trailers could have severe consequences because of their size and weight, experts say. But at the same time, autonomous systems could be better than human drivers because they do not get distracted or tired after long stretches of time, and accidents on highways are generally caused by human error. However, automation might not completely eliminate risk,” Arman Sargolzaei, a professor at the University of South Florida Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing, told Newsweek.
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