In Texas, the future has already hit the highway. This week, Aurora Innovation Inc. will officially deploy its first fully autonomous, driverless long-haul truck on public roads.
No safety driver. No human behind the wheel. Just sensors, software, and a whole lot of testing.
From a South African point of view, this sounds like science fiction.
While we’re still dodging potholes and struggling with outdated infrastructure, Americans are testing 40-ton trucks with no one in the cab.
But this is not just a tech flex – it’s a response to real problems plaguing the trucking industry globally.
Let’s start with the good stuff.
Aurora’s driverless trucks are immune to the top causes of truck crashes – fatigue, drunk driving, distractions, and reckless speeding.
These machines don’t get tired, don’t touch alcohol, and don’t have WhatsApp to distract them.
And with radar, lidar, and cameras giving them a 360-degree view, they “see” more than any human ever could.
Plus, they’re already hauling freight for big names like FedEx, Uber Freight, and DHL.
But it’s not all sunshine and seamless tech.
Critics argue there’s not enough regulation or transparency.
How often do these trucks make mistakes? How many times did human safety drivers have to intervene during testing?
No one knows because the companies aren’t required to share that data. And when a truck weighing 20-plus tonnes is barreling down a highway at 75mph, that’s not information to keep hush-hush.
There’s also the ethical question of jobs. In the US, the driver shortage is a major issue – Aurora sees autonomous trucks as a solution.
But what happens if this tech goes global and eventually lands on South African soil? We’re not short of truck drivers – we’re short of decent jobs for people. For us, automation threatens employment more than it solves a problem.
Volvo, one of Aurora’s partners, insists the tech is safe, with backup systems for everything – even the backups have backups.
Still, many argue that until the technology is watertight and fully regulated, we’re taking a gamble with road safety.
In SA, we’re still far from seeing self-driving rigs on the N3. But the writing’s on the wall.
The future of freight is knocking, and it doesn’t need a driver to open the door. The challenge for us will be balancing innovation with jobs, safety with practicality, and making sure that when the time comes, we’re ready – and not just passengers on someone else’s tech journey. Read more about this at GovTech
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