Editorial: The Self-Driving Beer Delivery

This Editorial appears in the Oct. 31 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

Well, you can’t say that we didn’t warn you.

As recently as one week ago in this very space, we wrote about the mechanical evolution taking place — namely platooning and autonomous-driving technologies.

The breathtaking progress in these areas was on display last week by Otto, as one of its heavy-duty, semi-autonomous trucks assisted in a 133-mile delivery in Colorado.

The delivery made national headlines, and the fact that it was a delivery of beer certainly made for entertaining conversations among the public.

Of course, this “self-driving” delivery had a driver in the vehicle, as well as an escort to ensure safety as part of this demonstration.

“This was sort of a commercial pilot of what the future might look like,” Otto co-founder Lior Ron said in an interview with Transport Topics.

Ron went on to say the company wants to “commercialize the technology as soon as possible.”

While in reality that likely remains many years off, this demonstration may be the most significant signal yet that right now is the time to get serious about the regulations, infrastructure and other factors involved in autonomous driving.

That message was heard loud and clear during separate events last week in Washington.

American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear called on Congress to take the lead on policy decisions regarding self-driving commercial technology.

“As this regulatory framework begins to mature, transparency and exclusivity is key,” Spear said. “Have all the modes, all the agencies, all the players involved in it to make certain that you don’t create something that hinders innovation and interrupts interstate commerce and disrupts our economy and jobs.”

Spear’s comments came shortly after a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advisory committee formally asked the agency to get “proactive and involved” to get the commercial motor vehicle industry “a seat at the table” to work on the design, safety and regulatory aspects of autonomous trucks.

We applaud these efforts and the realization that 2016 may long be remembered as the year when the world accepted these technologies as real.

From potential hours-of-service changes to changing the role of the driver, this has the chance to forever alter the industry — and proponents would say improve highway safety.

The demonstration in Colorado shows the time for the industry to tackle these issues head on is now.