Under the Radar: Autonomous Trucks Continue Moving Forward

It wasn’t long ago that news headlines suggested fully autonomous trucks would soon dominate American roadways. Those predictions have subsided, but truck OEMs and vehicle technology companies continue to refine and advance their autonomous solutions, often outside the spotlight.

Meanwhile, various states are working their way through legislation that could further delay mass deployment of autonomous trucks.

With the future still murky, utility fleet professionals will want to stay informed about developments in this space to help them anticipate what’s next. So, here’s the latest about who’s making deployment progress, when and where it’s set to happen, and what state lawmakers are saying about driverless trucks operating on their roads.

Autonomous Truck Progress
Some companies have exited the autonomous truck market while others are making progress with pilots and small rollouts, hoping for large-scale deployment in the next few years.

Autonomous truck developer Kodiak Robotics is leading the pack, with its self-driving trucks already making deliveries. Kodiak completed 900 autonomous freight deliveries for Martin Brower in 2024 and, working with J.B. Hunt and Bridgestone, surpassed 100,000 miles on long-haul routes. In January, Atlas Energy Solutions became the first Kodiak customer to take ownership of a RoboTruck – a semi equipped with Kodiak’s self-driving system – and launch driverless commercial semitruck operations.

Aurora Innovation plans to launch its fully autonomous trucks on public roadways this year, first in Texas and later in New Mexico and Arizona. According to Aurora’s website, by the end of 2025, the company’s trucks will operate autonomously day and night; within the speed limit, up to 75 miles per hour; in suburban and urban areas, including in dense traffic; in construction and work zones with cones and barriers; and in rain and heavy wind. Ahead of the commercial launch, the company created its Safety Case Framework, a self-driving vehicle development tool that Aurora said “is the first self-driving framework ever to address the safety of both autonomous trucks and passenger cars.”

Autonomous trucking player Bot Auto plans to deploy a pilot program in Texas that tests its first driver-out (i.e., fully autonomous) commercial freight operations. The company hasn’t announced a target date for the driverless launch but is planning continuous cargo hauling between Houston and San Antonio using autonomous trucks.

For the last two years, engineers from Waabi and Volvo Group have been collaborating on autonomous trucking technology. In February, the companies announced they are jointly developing driverless heavy-duty tractors. Commercial pilots in Texas are expected to begin in the coming months, with plans for series production of autonomous trucks in the next few years. Prior to announcing its partnership with Waabi, Volvo partnered with Aurora Innovation to bring the company’s automated driving technology – the Aurora Driver – to Volvo’s VNL model.

Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, is working with artificial intelligence specialist Nvidia and manufacturing company Flex to bring autonomous trucks to American roadways. Together, they’ve created a scalable, high-performance production platform for the Freightliner Cascadia. Torc’s first driver-out trucks will arrive in the Sunbelt in 2027 and scale from there.

Startup firm Stack AV publicly announced in September 2023 that it is developing autonomous driving technology for Class 8 trucks. Led by the founders of the now-defunct Argo AI, the company has yet to release details about its launch plans.

Regulatory Developments
On the regulatory side, more than half of all states currently have legislation pertaining to autonomous trucks. 

Which states allow driver-out trucks?
In 2017, Texas Senate Bill 2205 allowed driverless vehicles on highways, making the state a hub for testing and deployment. Drivers aren’t required to be present in autonomous vehicles, but the vehicles must obey traffic laws, have a functional video recording device and be insured.

In 2023, Arkansas and Mississippi amended their autonomous vehicle rules to allow the operation of truck platoons without human drivers in trailing vehicles. A year later, South Dakota established a regulatory framework to allow the operation of driver-out trucks on state roads.

Which states are developing relevant legislation?
Eleven state governments are currently discussing autonomous truck rules: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia. The details vary from state to state, but all 11 seek to outlaw driver-out trucks. Several specify that a commercial driver’s license holder will be required to monitor a truck’s autonomous system and intervene if necessary.

GVW Rules
In some states, gross vehicle weight may be used to determine whether a human operator must be present in an autonomous truck. Delaware’s bill would prohibit driver-out trucks that exceed 26,000 pounds from traveling on state roadways for testing purposes or for transporting goods or passengers. Maryland’s bill bars the use of autonomous vehicles over 10,000 pounds unless a human driver is “fully present” in the vehicle.

Additional Studies Required
Delaware’s bill also includes a provision that would make the state’s transportation department responsible for submitting an evaluation of autonomous vehicle technology to the governor by 2030. Similarly, Virginia amended its bill to convene a work group tasked with identifying concerns about autonomous vehicles operating in the state. Following the study, the group is expected to draft legislation to address those issues.

In Montana, the House and Senate previously proposed a bill to create state rules and standards for autonomous truck operation and commercial vehicle platooning. That bill has been amended and now requires the state’s transportation department to study platooning safety.

An Unfolding Story
The future of driver-out trucks is anything but certain. As it stands today, the fate of large-scale, fully autonomous trucking on U.S. roads primarily depends on continued safety studies, technology advancements and legislative action. Watch this space for more updates.

About the Author: Shelley Mika is the owner of Mika Ink, an Omaha, Nebraska-based branding and marketing communications agency. She has been writing about the fleet industry since 2006.