From Axios.
Drivers along a 200-mile stretch of I-45 between Dallas and Houston should get ready for something new: The semi-truck in the next lane might not have anyone in the driver’s seat.
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What they’re saying: “Everybody is looking at the same economics,” Jeff Farrah, CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, tells Axios.
- “The federal government is saying we have to move 50% more freight by 2050, but there’s a shortage of drivers. How do I solve this puzzle with more freight to move and less drivers to do it?”
The other side: Members of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are skeptical of AV trucking companies’ safety claims, especially since there are no federal regulations for AVs.
- “It’s absurd that AVs, which are unproven and unmanned, are given more latitude on American highways than professional drivers with years of experience like me are given,” Lewie Pugh, the group’s executive vice president, said in an interview.
- AV companies are self-regulated, while drivers are subject to many federal rules.
- Drivers are required to take regular breaks for safety reasons, for example, while AV trucks can operate 24/7 — better efficiency, the industry argues.
Where it stands: At least 10 companies are known to be developing driverless technology for trucks.
- Most expect to “pull the driver” — or go fully autonomous — on public roads later this year or in 2026.
- They all plan to begin in Texas, known for its vital freight corridors, favorable regulatory policies and good weather.
- Kodiak Robotics, which intends to go public soon, says it has already surpassed 750 hours on private roads across West Texas’s Permian Basin without a human driver on board.
See here for the previous post. Look at it this way, by the time you read this the no-backup-drivers trucks may already be out there, and you probably won’t notice them. They have been on the road with the backup drivers for several years now. The tariff-decimated economy may slow this down a bit, but that will be temporary. This is where we are.