Driverless semis take on Texas From the cover
The breakdown
Two minute impact
Automated Driving System crashes in the U.S. Companies who use vehicles equipped with Automated Driving Systems must report crashes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In the U.S., 25 states have enacted legislation to deploy autonomous vehicles, while another 12 allow for testing, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In Texas, over a dozen companies have tested or begun operating some type of self-driving vehicle. Most recently, self-driving car company Zoox announced in July it will begin testing in Austin this summer. Mars Auto, which develops auton- omous long-haul trucks, also announced it will move its operations to Round Rock this year. Autonomous vehicle companies are required to self-report any crash incidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Waymo and Cruise, which build self-driving passenger cars, take the lead in collisions among 39 companies, with 335 and 152 crashes respec- tively, according to data collected from July 2021 to June 17 by the NHTSA. Third in line is General Motors, which owns Cruise, with 145 crashes. Goff said autonomous trucks differ from cars as they have more predictable driving patterns and fewer obstacles, such as pedestrians, cyclists and stop lights. Cruise and Waymo also have larger
By the end of the year, Texas drivers could look over to see a semitruck traveling down the highway with no one in the driver’s seat. Leading the charge in the Austin area is autonomous truck company Kodiak Robotics, which is already hauling goods daily in Texas. Currently, Kodiak trucks have a “safety driver” monitoring the truck as it carries freight for hundreds of miles. By the end of the year, Kodiak will send trucks out unmanned. Autonomous vehicles could resolve supply chain issues and make life for truck drivers easier, Dan Goff, head of policy at Kodiak, said. However, John Esparza, president and CEO of the Texas Trucking Association, said officials and trucking companies aren’t looking to eliminate human drivers. “We are improving the safety of our highways and the efficiency by which we move freight,” he said. Part of the effort by state officials to enhance safety includes upgrading a 21-mile stretch of SH 130—running through Pflugerville and Hutto—with new technology to help guide automated trucks.
Companies included among Texas’ fleet, which also reported crashes to the NHTSA, as of June 17: Semitrucks • Aurora Operations • Kodiak • Torc Cars • Cruise • Nuro • Volkswagen • Waymo
California
Arizona
Texas
Nevada
Florida
SOURCE: NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
fleets than autonomous truck companies do. “The Kodiak system doesn’t get tired; it doesn’t get distracted; it doesn’t check its phone; it doesn’t have a bad day and take it out on the road,” he said.
The why
Explained
Truck driving limits
Texas roads have been ideal for autono- mous trucking companies, Goff said, as the state has some of the most lucrative freight routes in the nation and legislators have welcomed the new innovation. The supportive culture sprouted from Senate Bill 2205, a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017 that prohibits cities from regulating autonomous vehicles. “Trucks lead the country in the technol- ogies and the policies that they adopt and utilize to keep drivers safe,” Esparza said. “And why wouldn’t we? We’re talking about an 80,000-pound vehicle that the driver will drive an average of 100,000 miles a year.” Esparza said that while human drivers can put in many hours behind the wheel, they are still required to rest and limit their weekly driving. Driverless vehicles aren’t limited to these hour requirements. “How much more efficient can we be moving freight, even if it’s just a fraction of freight today?”
Texas law
Autonomous trucking companies such as Torc Robotics, Aurora and Gatik use sensors, cameras and mapping software as safety features, though each company has a different approach. For instance, Kodiak trucks navigate using detailed maps and have 18 sensors that monitor all parts of the vehicle and its surroundings 10 times each second. This allows the semis to respond to changing road conditions, such as accidents. The trucks routinely operate in inclement weather, as its sensors are able to see through rain and fog better than the human eye can, according to the company. During a storm, the semis slow down to match the environment on the road and can pull over to wait it out. Esparza said companies producing the software to manipulate these trucks have built in redun- dancies to mitigate hazardous situations and help vehicles stay in their lanes. “You’re sitting in the back and realizing that this vehicle, with its new-age LiDAR technology, is seeing so much farther than the human eye,” he said.
12 hours of driving within a 15-hour on-duty window 8 consecutive hours of off-duty rest before beginning shift Maximum of 70 hours of driving within 7-day span Drivers must take 34 consecutive hours of rest to reset their cycle
Federal law
11 maximum driving hours within a 14-hour on-duty window 10 consecutive hours of rest required after 14-hour window Drivers can’t work more than 60 hours in a 7-day period No more than 70 hours in an 8-day period Drivers must rest for 34 hours following the 70-hour driving limit
SOURCES: FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, ISAAC INSTRUMENTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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