CV NEWS FEED // A semi-truck company announced that in the coming days its first driverless truck will cruise down I-45, along a 200-mile freight corridor between Dallas and Houston.

Axios reported that the autonomous truck company Aurora Innovation planned to go completely driverless by the end of April and was set to begin with one autonomous vehicle and expand over the course of a month.

Axios adds that autonomous vehicles have been tested in Texas for several years, but they all have had a backup safety driver.

Currently, at least 10 trucking companies are developing driverless trucks. Most of these companies plan to go fully autonomous by 2026. 

The outlet states that the trucking industry is a backbone of the American economy, but rising costs, supply chain insufficiencies, and high driver turnovers all pose threats to the industry.

“Everybody is looking at the same economics,” Jeff Farrah, CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, told 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?”

However, critics have expressed concern about inadequate safety oversight, cybersecurity threats, and job reductions.

Members of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association pointed out that while drivers are subject to many federal regulations, AV companies are self-regulated.

Lewie Pugh, the group’s executive vice president, stated, “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.”