Driverless Semi Trucks Are Here, with Little Regulation and Big Promises

Summary

The semi truck rumbled down the congested, five-lane Texas highway, letting a small sedan pass on its right, then accelerating past another semi on its left.In the back seat of the truck’s sun-drenched cabin, a middle-aged man watched YouTube videos on his phone. Behind him, a 53-foot refrigerated trailer carried nearly 25,000 pounds of pastries.Nobody was in the driver’s seat.Last month, Aurora Innovation, based in Pittsburgh, became the first company to operate a driverless 18-wheeler on an American highway, ushering in an era that could dramatically change how cargo moves across the United States.Autonomous trucks, proponents say, could solve a knot of problems facing the American shipping industry, which has struggled to recruit drivers for grueling, low-paying long-haul shifts, and which expects major growth in cargo shipment activity in the coming decades, driven by the overwhelming popularity of online shopping.These new trucks won’t need sleep, they won’t speed, and they won’t get road rage. They won’t ride the brakes or make unnecessary lane changes, wasting fuel. And they won’t need to abide by the 11-hour daily driving maximum imposed on long-haul truckers for safety reasons.“If you’re a farm that has fresh produce, the reach of your farm just expanded dramatically,” said Chris Urmson, the chief executive of Aurora, who was riding in the back seat during the first run.Aurora’s new truck, which has already logged more than 1,000 driverless miles shuttling goods along Interstate 45 in Texas, is equipped with nearly 360-degree sensors that can detect objects 1,000 feet away.But some truckers, academics and labor groups are uneasy. They see an unregulated and risky sphere emerging, and worry that American roads could be facing a new menace.Byron Bloch, an auto safety expert in Maryland, said that federal oversight of the new robotrucks was “totally inadequate” and that the technology was being rushed into use with “alarming” speed.“My initial thought is: It’s...