Truck makers and operators still have to solve some major issues, however, including how automated trucks will operate in variable weather and road conditions, and whether drivers should still be inside big rigs.<\/p>\n I am an engineer<\/a> who studies human factors and transportation safety<\/a>, and in my view, it is likely that automated trucks and human drivers will be working together for quite some time.<\/p>\n Benefits of automation<\/strong><\/p>\n Fully automated trucks<\/a>, which can drive on an interstate highway in good weather without human intervention, use a combination<\/a> of AI, machine learning, computer vision, pattern recognition and adaptive decision-making. Torc<\/a>, one company developing these vehicles, uses AI to combine data from multiple sensors and generate models that predict truck performance.<\/p>\n Data taken from modern big rigs that are equipped with certain technology such as automatic emergency braking<\/a> and lane-keeping assistance systems<\/a> indicate that fully automated, driverless trucks could reduce the number and severity of crashes. They could also save fuel and therefore cost by optimizing acceleration and braking<\/a>, and by running multiple vehicles in a close-knit convoy or platoon<\/a>. Driverless trucks could reduce parking needs as well as emissions from idling<\/a> because they could run almost 24 hours a day and would not need to idle when they do park, which is common for regular rigs at truck stops.<\/p>\n Finally, automated trucks could help ease the ongoing driver shortage<\/a>. Ironically, automation could make driving less stressful and less physically demanding, improving job satisfaction among drivers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Weather and work zones are hard to navigate<\/strong><\/p>\n The main reason automated trucks are not common today is that they have difficulty operating in variable weather, under changing roadway conditions and alongside unpredictable drivers.<\/p>\n Automated trucks require sensors, radars and cameras that gather information about the environment around them to make decisions. However, snow and rain remain a problem for all automated vehicles<\/a>, including cars, because they prevent the technology from \u201cseeing\u201d the roadway. Driverless taxi company Waymo, for example, only operates driverless cars in areas that get no snow.<\/p>\n Furthermore, any stretch of road where there may not be a predictable, clear surface and prevalent lines is difficult to handle<\/a>. Imagine a construction zone with orange cones, narrow lanes and missing lane lines. Driverless car companies still try to avoid these areas<\/a>. And, oddly, some research shows that automobile drivers tend to crash into driverless cars at a higher rate<\/a> than they do cars piloted by people.<\/p>\n Given those challenges, companies are testing automated trucks on roads that lack complications.<\/p>\n For example, autonomous truck maker Aurora is operating large freight trucks on I-45<\/a>, a relatively flat and straight highway between Dallas and Houston. Rival Kodiak\u2019s robotrucks are delivering sand to industrial sites<\/a> in Texas over roads few people use. Few if any automated trucks are being tested in chaotic urban environments, given the pedestrians, bicyclists, traffic lights and elements of city traffic.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/file-20261017-50-su17bt-scaled.jpg\")