Autonomous trucks are now driving between Dallas and Houston at night, and it may not be long before they make their way to Louisiana. Renee Amar, the executive director of the Louisiana Motor Transport Association, says a law was passed in 2019 allowing autonomous trucking in the state.
“They think probably 2027 is when we’re going to see an actual rollout of autonomous trucks that’ll be operating on the road,” Amar said.
Amar says there have already been test runs for self-driving trucks in the state. She says for now, those drives will remain at night during low traffic hours and with a human driver in the vehicle.
“They’ll drive, tens and thousands, maybe 70, 80, 100,000 miles with that driver in the truck before they even try to put that truck on the road,” Amar explained.
Amar says once autonomous trucks are approved for a full rollout, they could transform the industry. She mentioned employment and liability concerns.
“When you have a major disruption of technology in any market, any industry, it’s going to have ripple effects down the line,” Amar said.
