'A completely different world': self-driving trucks prepare for driverless operations in Texas

Lancaster, Texas — An autonomous tractor-trailer drove itself onto Interstate 20, safely merged into dense traffic, and slowed to 48 mph as it approached a car stopped on the shoulder.

Kodiak Robotics safety driver Robert Roland kept his hands hovering over the wheel, ready to intervene if necessary, while the company's technology handled traffic, hazards, ramps, and streets near its terminal during a morning demonstration last month. The demonstration took place near Dallas.

"It's a whole different world," said the third-generation truck driver.

AsKodiak RoboticsandAurora Innovationprepare to operate driverless vehicles on public roads in Texas later this year, Trucking Dive visited both companies' sites to get a close look at their progress toward full autonomy.

Autonomous trucks have been making test runs with customer freight on public roads under the supervision of safety operators, and the experience offered a glimpse into how ready these trucks might be for real-world driving scenarios.

"They drive defensively, they drive cautiously," said Daniel Goff, Kodiak's director of external affairs.

Safety first, and "always"

Kodiak's system is designed to be courteous to other drivers, slowing down and letting other vehicles merge.

"The system is designed to treat unknown objects like a human would: with extra caution," Goff said.

At the company's operations center in Lancaster, Texas, operations director Don Lepard pointed to a map on the wall showing routes where Kodiak hauls freight for customers and gets paid. Lowercase "k" markers appeared at multiple locations in California, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Another wall reads: "Safety first, always. Period."

At nearby Palmer, Texas, Aurora staff emphasized safety efforts and the company's technology at its busy autonomous vehicle terminal.

Aurora trucks can operate in fog and light rain, and have strong capabilities even in downpours, Aurora President Ossa Fisher said in an interview.

But deployment in icy and snowy conditions could take a few years, she said. Fisher compared autonomous truck precautions to airlines deciding not to fly in hazardous weather conditions.

"We believe this will actually improve road safety," she said, "because right now, there are trucks on the road in conditions where a human probably shouldn't be driving."

At the Mid-America Trucking Show in Kentucky in March, Aurora senior safety specialist Bryan Jones emphasized the company's focus on safety, noting that these efforts aim to promote continuous improvement.

Aurora believes it "can always be safer and always strives" to improve the company and its technology, he said.

The company is developing a safety case and reporting its autonomous readiness metricat 95% as of mid-April. Aurora is seekingto reach 100%。

Operations now and in the future

Like Kodiak, Aurora also uses a two-person crew, with Aurora experts such as Zach Riley monitoring the technology via a laptop in the vehicle, observing how the system perceives the environment, traffic, and hazards.

Riley noted that sensors on Aurora's lidar (short for light detection and ranging) cansee objects more than 400 meters away. He recalled that on a recent trip, the technology cut through fog, identifying and reacting to traffic ahead before Riley could see it.

With the technology enhancing the vehicle's ability to navigate traffic, Riley compared it to a superpower. He said he wished his own car hadthis technology。

Supporters of the technology say that even after autonomous operations become widespread, job opportunities for drivers will still exist.

At Aurora's terminal, CDL-licensed personnel perform Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspections daily before trucks depart.

"We will always need and hire truck drivers," Jones said at MATS.

He noted that with so many moving parts at the terminal, risk is always present, but company employees "also believe that we can reduce risk by implementing smart solutions we've seen work in other areas."

Jones also said safety training is not a one-time course that is never reviewed: instead, he and Aurora's safety team visit terminals regularly to ensure training stays current.

Safety assessments continue

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires companies involved in autonomous operations to provide crash details, helping track companies' safety records through a public database.

These incidents do not necessarily mean the autonomous vehicle was at fault; the database provides details of incidents over a nearly three-year period through April 15 of this year. Manufacturers and operators must report this information to NHTSA.

Kodiak recently logged 3 million miles of real-world operations with its technology, reporting only three incidents. All occurred while the truck was being operated manually by a driver, and no injuries were reported.

In one incident, in October 2023 on a highway in Fort Worth, a Kodiak truck was being driven at 34 mph by a safety driver when a Class 8 semi encroached into its lane, the company said in an NHTSA summary. Light contact scraped the mirror-mounted SensorPod, and the autonomous safety driver pulled the truck over.

The NHTSA crash database lists six Aurora incidents, most occurring while the vehicle was in autonomous mode, according to crash summaries. Like Kodiak, no injuries were reported in these incidents or crashes.

A collision in March on a highway in West Texas demonstrated how the technology handles problems. According to an NHTSA summary, an Aurora truck was driving autonomously at 64 mph when a car suddenly cut into the truck's lane and struck the left rear of the trailer. Both vehicles eventually drove away from the scene.

Still, potential hazardous situations raise concerns among truck drivers.

"We want to see restrictions and regulations on autonomous driving, just like for drivers who have proven themselves," said Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), noting that a top-performing truck driver can safely drive millions of miles.

The public should not be guinea pigs for road testing, an OOIDA spokesperson said in an email.

Setting safety standards is a tricky issue, said Chad Dittberner, senior vice president of Werner Enterprises' Van and Expedited divisions, noting that the company currently hasmore than 600 driverswho have safely driven over 1 million miles without an accident.

Dittberner, a member of theKodiak Industry Advisory Council, said safety is Werner's top priority for autonomous vehicles and the rest of its fleet.

"The ultimate goal is for trucks to never be involved in an accident," he said, "which is the same goal we have for drivers today."