By Mark Anderson | The Mercedes Enterprise 

As Americans confront a near-invasion of their nation by sprawling AI data centers, there’s a push to demote or totally replace human drivers in heavy commercial trucks with artificial intelligence-powered systems. In other words, driverless 18-wheel semi rigs that weigh up to 85,000 pounds could soon become a legally approved reality, 

Like the case with data centers, this trend is being met with public wariness, pushback and litigation, as this seemingly inexorable technological trend moves from testing to deployment. 

“The autonomous truck industry says driverless semis can save lives and help address a driver shortage,” the Arizona Capital Times reported Aug. 19. “Critics counter that self-driving big rigs pose a danger and will supplant jobs. Tension is growing between the two sides as deployment quickly expands, and as states write the rules of the road without federal regulations.” 

The California Teamsters have sued that state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), challenging new state regulations for light- and heavy-duty autonomous vehicles (AVs). 

“Such a critical decision with life-and-death consequences must involve public input and transparency,” Peter Finn, the union’s co-chair, noted in an Aug. 5 statement announcing the lawsuit. 

He maintains California is taking shortcuts in the permitting process and is intent on allowing driverless vehicles over 10,000 pounds, evidently those with no onboard human supervision, onto the state’s roads. 

Back in April, California’s DMV issued a press release, claiming there’s been careful scrutiny of allowing heavy AV trucks to ply America’s highways. 

“Manufacturers must complete 50,000 miles (light-duty) or 500,000 miles (heavy-duty) of testing at each phase and prepare a structured safety case demonstrating the safety of vehicle hardware, software and operations,” California’s DMV claimed in a press release, adding that there’s a process “for law enforcement to issue a Notice of AV Noncompliance to manufacturers when an AV commits a moving violation, [thereby] enhancing visibility and accountability for AV traffic-law compliance.” 

Meanwhile, the Teamsters, for whom self-driving trucks are an existential threat to their livelihoods, insist the DMV violated the law by not properly evaluating this issue’s economic impacts; nor did the DMV allow adequate public feedback. 

TEXAS COALITION 

A coalition of Texas groups that has been in the trenches for years fighting against excessive tollways, and against the surveillance and automated ticketing of motorists, also has come out against driverless “AI” taxis, such as WAYMO, and driverless heavy trucks. 

Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), Texans for Toll-Free Highways (TTH), and Grassroots America-We the People (GAWTP), under the banner of the Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition, have been calling on the federal government to take the high road, above and beyond state-level regulating, to strictly regulate the proliferation of Level 4 and Level 5 Autonomous Vehicles (AVs)—primarily commercial trucks. 

Level 4 AVs can drive fully on their own, but they can only drive in specific places and under certain weather conditions. Level 5 vehicles are fully automated and can drive everywhere under all conditions, without an onboard human driver if need be. Supposedly, there are no Level 5 vehicles officially operating in the U.S. yet.