Autonomous

About Autonomous News...

Autonomous technologies now drive significant change in trucking and freight transportation. Transport Topics autonomous coverage provides a comprehensive look at that change. It provides the latest details on deployment concepts such as advanced driver-assist systems, transfer hubs, teleoperations, platooning and off-road automation and latest analysis of the companies who are manufacturing, adopting and investing in these technologies. Readers can follow the impact such deployment has on everything from policy and infrastructure initiatives to highway congestion, fuel consumption, fleet management, driver management and business investment.

Business, Autonomous

Volvo Shows Off SuperTruck Entry to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz

WASHINGTON — Volvo Trucks North America unveiled its version of SuperTruck for inspection here by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on Sept. 13, saying its VNL 670 highway tractor demonstrates an 88% gain in freight efficiency and an extra 70% in fuel efficiency.

Jonathan S. Reiskin | Associate News Editor
September 13, 2016
Business, Autonomous

Self-Driving Trucks? Truckers Say: Hit the Brakes

SAN FRANCISCO — Walt Martin spent a decade as a longhaul truck driver, logging as many as 200,000 miles a year on the road.

Marco della Cava | USA Today
September 12, 2016
Perspective, Business, Safety, Autonomous

Opinion: It’s Always Time to Appreciate Our Truck Drivers

One thing we’ll start to hear more about in the coming months is the next administration’s first 100 days in the Oval Office. It’s an opportunity to articulate a vision and begin executing new goals. As ATA’s new president and CEO, I’m nearing the end of my first hundred days in office and it has been an exciting time for me and our leadership team. There have been meetings to take and calls to make and all that goes into starting a new job, but we’ve hit the ground running to start securing victories for the trucking industry.

September 12, 2016
Editorial, Business, Autonomous

Editorial: Future Trucks Today

No quiet end to summer this year. Original equipment manufacturer executives have not been lounging poolside.

September 12, 2016
Business, Safety, Government, Fuel, Technology, Autonomous

DTNA’s Daum Cautious on Speed Limiters, Autonomous Expectations

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The growing importance of fleets being able to regulate the speed of individual trucks through remote, over-the-air engine updates should be taken into account as the federal government considers a mandate requiring heavy-duty vehicles to utilize speed limiters, the president of Daimler Trucks North America said.

Neil Abt | Editorial Director
September 6, 2016
Business, Autonomous

When Self-Driving Vehicles Take to the Road, Impact on Jobs is Uncertain

Millions of Americans make a living by driving trucks, delivery vans, taxis and ride-hailing cars. When technology takes the wheel, what will happen to their livelihoods?

David R. Baker and Carolyn Said | San Francisco Chronicle
September 6, 2016
Perspective, Business, Government, Equipment, Safety, Logistics, Autonomous

Opinion: Jake Brakes Keep Drivers Safe on Steep Roads

You can’t work in the trucking industry for long without realizing the interconnectedness of the trucking world — goods with communities, roads with ports, airports and railways, regulations across international and provincial borders and municipal boundaries, you name it. Another connection may not be immediately apparent: Canada’s National Trucking Week and “Jake” brakes.

September 5, 2016
Business, Safety, Autonomous

Large TL Churn at 5-Year Low in Sluggish Market, ATA Says

Driver turnover fell 4 percentage points year-over-year for larger truckload fleets to 83% in the second quarter, dropping to the lowest level since 2011 amid a sluggish freight market, American Trucking Associations reported last week.

Rip Watson and Ari Ashe | Staff Reporters
September 5, 2016
Business, Government, Safety, Fuel, Autonomous

Natural-Gas Advocates Claim Victories in Phase 2 GHG Emissions Regulation

The Phase 2 greenhouse-gas emissions final rule gave natural-gas advocates victories in how the alternative fuel is handled and how emissions of methane are regulated, they said, even as the rule forecast little chance of natural gas becoming a major fuel source for heavy-duty trucks in the next decade.

Roger Gilroy | Senior Reporter
September 5, 2016
Business, Safety, Government, Autonomous

Truck-Involved Crash Deaths Rise; Highest Total Since ’08, DOT Says

Fatalities in crashes involving large trucks rose 4.1% from 2014 to 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Aug. 29.

David Elfin and Eric Miller | Staff Reporters
September 5, 2016