| masraum |
05-25-2025 07:09 AM |
About a week ago, the company and the Texas govt back-pedaled on the driveless autonomous trucks in Texas. THey both said that they are putting people back in the driver's seat as a monitor/backup to the autonomous system.
https://electrek.co/2025/05/24/humans-step-up-as-texas-steps-back-from-autonomous-trucking/
Quote:
Texas technology firm Aurora made headlines earlier this month by launching the first fully autonomous freight service in the US – but those celebrations may have been premature. According to the company’s CEO, human operators are back in the saddle.
In a blog post written by Aurora CEO, Chris Urmson, the company said the decision to put a human operator back behind the wheel of its tech-boosted Peterbilt Class 8 semi trucks was a result of pressure from the truck manufacturer’s parent company PACCAR. PACCAR apparently wanted a human in place, “because of certain prototype parts in their base vehicle platform.”
In Urmson’s own words:
A core part of our strategy has always been building a strong ecosystem of partners across the industry — from OEMs to logistics providers to regulators. These partnerships are essential to delivering a safe, scalable, commercial product.
One of those partners, PACCAR, requested we have a person in the driver’s seat, because of certain prototype parts in their base vehicle platform. We are confident this is not required to operate the truck safely based on the exhaustive testing (covering nearly 10,000 requirements and 2.7 million tests) and analysis that populates our safety case. PACCAR is a long-time partner and, after much consideration, we respected their request and are moving the observer, who had been riding in the back of some of our trips, from the back seat to the front seat. This observer will not operate the vehicle — the Aurora Driver will continue to be fully responsible for all driving tasks, including pulling over to a safe location if required. And we’ve shown we can do that safely, with the Aurora Driver operating for more than 6,000 driverless miles along our commercial launch lane between Dallas and Houston. This change has no impact on our near, mid and long-term development plans.
CHRIS URMSON, AURORA CEO
The re-introduction of human operators comes just as Texas State lawmakers are reviewing House Bill 4402 – a proposed law just passed out of the Texas House Committee on Transportation and would require trained human operators in autonomous vehicles, effectively banning fully self driving semi trucks in Texas.
“Requiring a human operator in a driverless truck isn’t unreasonable — it’s common sense,” says Brent Taylor, President of Teamsters Joint Council 80 in Dallas, Texas, and Southern Region International Vice President. Adding, that, “there are hundreds of thousands of Texans who turn a key for a living. They have mortgages, medical bills, and families to support. We can’t let out-of-state billionaires steal their jobs with reckless automation. We must protect their livelihoods by passing this critical bill into law.”
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I was curious if there had been an incident. I only found 2 things that sounded like they could have precipitated this.
This from the "AI Overview" on google
Quote:
Aurora Innovation, a company developing autonomous truck technology, has faced a number of incidents and challenges, including a regulatory dispute with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regarding warning devices and a lawsuit over a denial of a warning device exemption. Aurora also had one minor crash involving a truck traveling between Fort Worth and El Paso, which authorities determined was caused by an out-of-control driver in another vehicle.
Here's a more detailed look at the incidents and challenges:
Regulatory Dispute and Lawsuit:
Aurora is suing the FMCSA after the agency denied its request for a five-year exemption from the traditional placement of roadside warning devices (triangles) in favor of cab-mounted warning beacons.
The FMCSA's decision was based on concerns about the safety of using cab-mounted beacons, citing a lack of sufficient data to demonstrate they offer the same level of safety as the traditional approach.
Aurora argues that the FMCSA's decision stifles innovation and would impede the development of the autonomous trucking industry.
Aurora's proposed solution for autonomous trucks is to use cab-mounted beacons, similar to those used by emergency and construction vehicles.
The company claims these beacons are a more effective and safer alternative to the traditional triangle placement, especially for autonomous trucks that don't have drivers on board to place the triangles.
Aurora is seeking a court review of the FMCSA's decision, arguing that it was made "arbitrarily and capriciously".
Minor Crash:
Aurora had one minor crash involving a truck traveling between Fort Worth and El Paso.
The crash was determined to be caused by an out-of-control driver in another vehicle, not by the autonomous truck itself.
Despite the crash, Aurora has emphasized the safety of its autonomous trucks and the extensive simulations and testing they have undergone.
Safety and Testing:
Aurora has logged millions of miles with a safety driver and has used simulations to train its trucks in various scenarios, including those identified through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash type database.
The company claims that if its driverless trucks were operating in the 29 fatal crashes involving Class 8 trucks on I-45 from Dallas to Houston, the crashes could have been avoided.
Aurora uses a Fault Management System to monitor the truck's performance and detect potential issues, prompting the truck to move to a safe location if necessary.
The company's trucks are also monitored by humans at a command center.
Other Considerations:
Some experts have raised concerns about the technology being hacked and the potential for unintended consequences if the system malfunctions.
There are ongoing debates about the safety and reliability of autonomous truck technology and the need for more regulations and testing.
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