(KTEN) — Driverless semitrucks may take some getting used to, but you are about to start seeing them on highways.
While driverless trucks are already in some parts of the country, the autonomous routes are beginning to expand.
For example, tech partners Volvo and Aurora announced they are expanding their driverless semitrucks from Dallas to Oklahoma City.
Local drivers worry about sharing the road with these vehicles.
“I’d rather a person be driving it because there’s people errors, but there’s also, you know, errors with technology,” Oklahoma driver Kathleen Tuiqalau said.
Drivers questioned what happens if something does go wrong.
“If there is a glitch or something in that program, someone can lose their life,” semitruck driver Robert Dumagan said.
Capt. Scott Hampton with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the autonomous semitrucks present new challenges for law enforcement.
“That will all be a work in progress to see how public safety deals with that,” Hampton said.
He added, “We’re currently training with the companies that are putting this in place.”
Law enforcement officials will have to ensure the vehicles follow the rules of the road, especially when first responders are present.
“They have put in protocol as to, like when emergency vehicles come up behind them, they will sense that,” Hampton said.
The driverless semitrucks will also have daily inspections before the vehicles begin their routes.
If a problem is detected, built-in fail-safes take over to protect surrounding traffic.
“Any time they sense an issue, they are pulling over on the side of the road, putting themselves out of service, and can’t move until they are repaired,” Hampton said.
The semitrucks are expected to be on routes from Dallas to Oklahoma City beginning in June.
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