Driverless trucks are rolling in Texas, ushering in new era
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/23/texas-driverless-trucks
Driverless trucks are rolling in Texas, ushering in new era
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/23/texas-driverless-trucks
11 Comments
From the article
Drivers along a 200-mile stretch of [I-45](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/07/dallas-autonomous-trucks) between Dallas and Houston should get ready for something new: The semi-truck in the next lane might not have anyone in the driver’s seat.
**Why it matters:** Autonomous trucking companies have been [testing their fleets](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/07/dallas-autonomous-trucks) on Texas highways for several years, but always with backup safety drivers in the cab.
* Now, one company, Aurora Innovation, says it plans to go completely driverless at the end of the month, a key milestone that promises to reshape the trucking industry.
**Driving the news:** After years of development, Pittsburgh-based Aurora is launching commercial driverless operations this month on a popular freight route between Dallas and Houston.
* The first autonomous truck is expected to roll down I-45 in the coming days, although Aurora officials declined to share any details.
* The company has said it will begin slowly, with one truck, and will gradually expand the fleet over time.
**The big picture:** Trucking is the backbone of the American economy, yet the industry is strained by high driver turnover rates, supply chain inefficiencies and rising costs.
Americans will do anything but having a good rail system lmao
Nobody in the cab to question why the cargo is screaming “let us out!”.
But but but…truckers have been telling us the country wouldn’t run without them
Not that I plan on going to Texas anytime soon but what road should I avoid driving on?
I always thought the near-future world presented in the movie Logan was a little ambitious in terms of the timeline… but damn, it looks like we’re actually on track for it.
How, or better, who will fill up those trucks at the pump station when they run out of diesel?
Congrats truckers, now learn to code. /s
It’ll be interesting to see how the apologists will perform mental gymnastics and say there’ll be as many new jobs that open to replace this field, as if the entire point of automation wasn’t because it saves on labor costs.
Riddle me this… what if a driverless truck is driving someone out of Texas to another state for an abortion? Or to read banned books? We can’t have that!
I am curious about how they handle refueling but in general I’m in favor of this because it’s been my theory this will reduce highway accidents. I also think cars and trucks should have separate dedicated lanes from each other
Won’t theft be much easier? I imagine any vehicle can pin it in forcing the truck to stop anywhere and rob the cargo