By: Grayson Barlow
The year 2024 is shaping up to be a remarkable moment for the autonomous trucking industry. Major players—Aurora Innovation, Kodiak Robotics, and Gatik AI—are gearing up to make it the “year of driverless,” as each company has announced plans to deploy driverless trucks without a human onboard by the end of the year. While these technological advancements promise to revolutionize the logistics sector, they also raise critical legal questions concerning safety, regulation, and workforce impact.
The journey towards autonomous trucking has been marked by significant technological advancements, transforming what once seemed like a distant fantasy into a reality set to change the transportation industy entirely. After years of testing, each trucking company expects to remove safety drivers from their trucks, guided by software and an array of sensors. With substantial financial backing from early investors such as McDonalds, Walmart, FedEx, IKEA, and Tyson Foods, this technology has already proven successful.
While each company’s technology varies in design, the core concept is shared amongst them. Each truck contains a high-speed computer system that employs three types of sensors to track and identiy objects on and around the road. The first sensor can be described as the main computer, or the brain of the truck. Next are the primary sensor pods which include long-range and mid-range lidar, camera arrays and radar, which are mounted in boxes—either located where the rearview mirrors typically sit (Kodiak), mounted just above the doors (Aurora), or above the cab (Gatik)—and feed data to the onboard computer. Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses laser wave frequency or amplitude to measure variable distances. Each truck is generally retrofitted with two types of lidar: (1) Frequency-Modulated and Continuous Wave Lidar, which employs the Doppler effect to measure the position and velocity of everything it observes and then forms a dynamic 3D representation of road conditions; and (2) Amplitude Modulation Lidar, which tracks objects close to the vehicle with pulsed light. The third type of sensor includes near-range lidar and camera sensors, which use custom lenses that scan the surroundings up to a half-mile away every tenth of a second in all directions.
This rapid advancement has raised concerns about the pace of regulation and the potential safety risks of trucks carrying large loads at high speeds, with little federal oversight. The companies highlight that the technology behind these trucks include a specialized secondary computer for fail-safe operation. According to Kodiak Robotics CEO and Founder, Don Burnette, their technology includes redundant steering, braking, and power features—layers of backup ready to kick into gear in the event of a failure—which are key for the company’s ability to go fully driverless. While this technology aims to allow for more than 20 hours of daily operation, potentially transforming the freight industry by reducing delivery times, and mitigating food spoilage, everyone’s eyes remain on highway safety. Insurance brokerage firms like CoverWallet Inc., reasonably are hesitant to hop on-board with these trucks, as they claim that “juries will be harsh if an autonomous truck causes an accident . . . . [F]or these businesses, with every single truck they put out on the road, their neck is out on the line. So their standard of safety has to be absolutely perfect.”
While these trucking titans are full steam ahead on deploying their fleets, the regulatory environment surrounding autonomous trucking remains fragmented. The federal government has largely left the regulation of driverless large trucks to the states, creating a patchwork of rules that may hinder the cohesive development and deployment of this Audio Visual (AV) technology. The disconnect between states is already becoming quite clear, as California lawmakers have opposed autonomous big rigs, in part due to a robust union campaign led by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, as well as the experience of robotaxis in San Francisco. On the other hand, Texas—where all three trucking companies intend to deploy this technology—has embraced the industry shift, approving a legal pathway for autonomous trucks, as well as seting up a task force to collaborate with operators and tackle issues such as roadside inspections and police responses when there’s no driver.
The Teamsters Union, which represents more than 1.3 million workers, has called for federal regulation of autonomous vehicles in an effort to avoid “catastrophic impacts on American workers and . . . preventable road fatalities.” Their federal petition, “Autonomous Vehicle Federal Policy Principles,” presents a framework that emphasizes the need for comprehensive federal motor vehicle safety standards tailored to autonomous trucks. It highlights the importance of a unified regulatory framework that ensures transparency and safety and advocates for safety standards, including requirements for object detection, response to technical failures, and post-accident procedures, to address the unique challenges posed by autonomous trucks.
While little has been done from a federal standpoint to address this petition, each company has defended these concerns by reinforcing that safety is of paramount importance, especially in light of the incidents involving autonomous vehicles in the robotaxi sector. Aurora executive, Nat Beuse, explains that although competitors, each company understands that the only way for this to be successful, is if there is a 100% success rate, which is why their framework designs are “out there for other people to copy at will; no pride of ownership.”
Beyond the safety aspect, the advent of driverless trucks also pose significant challenges to the workforce. The Teamsters Union emphasizes the need to address the workforce impacts of autonomous vehicle commercialization, advocating for measures such as wage replacement programs for displaced workers and the inclusion of human operators in all AVs to preserve jobs and maintain safety. Studies suggest that driverless vehicles could eliminate up to 500,000 jobs. Proponents behind autonomous technology argue that it will enable human drivers to focus on shorter trips and take on jobs that most drivers do not want – those that are the most dangerous and tedious. As the technological world rapidly advances around us, the absence of federal oversight raises critical questions about the extent of its impact. Whether you are a proponent or an advocate, one thing that should be agreed upon is that this technology is here to stay, and these trucks will lawfully be on the roads before the end of the year. Without timely intervention, we may reach a point where it’s too late to mitigate the adverse effects on employment and safety.
As we navigate the legal landscape of autonomous trucking, it is crucial to strike a balance between technological innovation and safety, while also safeguarding the interests of the workforce. The upcoming year promises to be a pivotal period in determining the future of this industry, and it is imperative that federal and state regulations evolve to address the complex challenges posed by autonomous vehicles.
Student Bio: Grayson Barlow is a third-year law student at Suffolk University Law School set to graduate in May 2024. Grayson is receiving a dual degree with his masters in taxation through Suffolk’s Tax LL.M program. Although a third year, Grayson was given the opportunity to be a staff member for the Journal of High Technology Law, where he aims to refine his legal writing and research abilities while enjoying the ride along the way.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
