driverless trucks will make deliveries to Houston and Dallas

At the end of the year, two American companies plan to deploy driverless heavy goods vehicles, which will increase the number of return trips on a Texas highway.

In fact, self-driving trucks are already driving between Dallas and Houston, two of the largest cities in the US state. This is not necessarily easy to notice: the sign at the rear indicating that it is an autonomous heavy goods vehicle during testing is discreet and above all, there is a driver at the wheel, to intervene in the event of problem!

For weeks, trucks from Aurora Innovation and Kodiak Robotics, two companies developing autonomous freight vehicle solutions, have been plying I-45, one of the busiest highways in the country between Houston, a major port in the States -United States and Dallas.

Aurora has installed a terminal near both cities, terminals capable of operating day and night. The 18 wheels of these trucks are full of sensors, cameras and lasers. While their routes are in the testing phase, they are already transporting goods for Uber Freight or FedEx. Around 20 fully autonomous heavy goods vehicles should quickly find themselves on Texas roads. Aurora expects to generate profit from 2027 or 2028.

Changes to come “comparable to those which followed the railway”

We will therefore see fully autonomous trucks on the roads before cars ultimately. The cars are still in the testing phase and these tests will last. In the United States, 70% of goods transported are by heavy goods vehicles, so a professor from the University of Pennsylvania, a specialist in the sector, predicts in the Washington Post changes comparable to those that followed the railway.

The Aurora boss gives the example of strawberries produced in California and delivered to Dallas in three days. With an autonomous truck, the transport time would increase to 24 hours, because the absence of a human being on board means the absence of rest time. Knowing that in addition, the sector would suffer from a shortage of 64,000 drivers. The environment would also benefit, according to an Aurora white paper, which explains that 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from transportation, 50% even in a state like California. . With more efficient speed and fuel management, autonomous trucks would save fuel, which means fewer emissions. They can also drive more easily at night, reducing rush hour traffic and pollution produced by other vehicles stuck in traffic jams.

Reassurance, an important challenge

Obviously, 38 tonnes without anyone at the wheel is a bit scary. The challenge of trust is almost as difficult to overcome as that of technology, for Aurora and Kodiak. Two-thirds of Americans would fear getting into an autonomous vehicle.

Legislation depends on the states because the federal government does not impose anything. So if a state doesn’t clearly say that autonomous vehicles are banned, they aren’t. But “this is not a scientific experiment”, insists Aurora. In the meantime, while Texas is more open to testing autonomous vehicles than California, for example, Cruise, which is developing autonomous taxis, has suspended its activity due to complaints. His taxis, being careful, would slow down traffic too much in the city of Austin.

Aurora’s trucks have traveled a million and a half miles and have been involved in three accidents, all minor. A vehicle without a driver is not yet 100% safe – but neither is a vehicle with a human behind the wheel. In 2021, in the United States, nearly 6,000 people died in an accident with a heavy truck. In California, trucking unions pushed – unsuccessfully – for a law banning autonomous trucks. They worry about safety but also about their jobs.