Free Republic

The North Texas area has quietly become the new frontier for the development of self-driving trucks, with several companies from around the world setting up operations — and using North Texas highways for real-world testing. For now, these delivery trucks making stops at Sam’s Club, Kroger and other destinations do have a human behind the wheel — a safety driver in case of emergencies or technology glitches. In the not-too-distant future, that will no longer be the case. Several companies are competing to bring to market a dominant driverless technology for the future of moving goods on the nation’s highways....

Waymo is tapping the brakes on self-driving trucks and shifting most of its capital, resources and talent to one commercial bet: ride-hailing. The move, which was announced Wednesday in a company blog post, comes six years after Waymo first tested its autonomous vehicle system in Class 8 trucks. The company emphasized the decision was driven by the commercial opportunities in applying its autonomous vehicle technology to ride-hailing. Robotaxis (or ride-hailing using driverless vehicles) have always been a centerpiece of Waymo’s plans. However, many AV developers pivoted to logistics and delivery because it was viewed as the better nearer-term economic bet....

AUBURNDALE — Florida has one of the world’s most famous asphalt ovals in the Daytona International Speedway. A slightly smaller track recently completed in Auburndale won’t draw massive crowds for races, but it’s part of a project that could hasten the day when self-driving vehicles take over the roads. Crews finished laying asphalt for the 2¼-mile oval — phase one of SunTrax — in early May, and construction will begin in the coming months on infield elements designed for the development and testing of connected and autonomous vehicles. The second phase of SunTrax, a project overseen by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise...