Posted on 10/29/2025 9:57:50 PM PDT by Red Badger
Editor’s Note: For the record, I’m among the EXTREMELY skeptical when it comes to automation of anything that can kill people. Big rigs qualify. Call me a Boomer if you’d like but I prefer drivers to be human… as long as they speak and read in English and are U.S. citizens. With that said, the data on AI trucks is at least a little compelling…
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Artificial intelligence has officially taken the wheel—literally. A recent large-scale safety showdown between AI-driven trucking systems and top-rated human drivers has revealed something few expected: the machines won.
According to results released this week, autonomous trucking systems achieved a perfect safety score, outperforming seasoned human professionals across multiple categories including reaction time, braking, lane control, and accident prevention.
The trial was conducted under tightly controlled but real-world conditions, pitting self-driving big rigs against human-operated counterparts on identical routes. AI trucks not only matched but exceeded the performance of the best human drivers, earning top marks across every safety metric. Supporters are hailing this as proof that artificial intelligence can make roads safer and reduce human error—long considered the leading cause of fatal accidents.
But despite the promising data, skepticism runs deep. Many Americans aren’t ready to trust machines with 80,000 pounds of steel hurtling down a highway at 70 miles per hour. Beyond questions of safety, there’s a deeper unease—about jobs, control, and what it means when algorithms begin replacing not only human labor but human judgment.
Truckers have long been a backbone of American commerce. The industry employs more than 3.5 million drivers nationwide, many of whom spend decades perfecting their craft and navigating conditions no computer can fully simulate: unpredictable weather, erratic motorists, sudden mechanical failures, and the moral instincts that arise in moments of crisis. While AI systems can react faster than human reflexes, they can’t yet replicate human intuition or conscience.
And that’s where the debate cuts deeper. The technology may be statistically “perfect,” but the moral question remains: who’s accountable when things go wrong? When a self-driving truck swerves to save one life but endangers another, who makes that decision—the programmer, the corporation, or the machine?
Skeptics also point to the pattern of overpromising seen across the tech world. Silicon Valley has a habit of selling perfection before it’s proven. From self-driving cars that still cause accidents to “bias-free” AI systems that quietly discriminate, history shows that early victories often mask deeper vulnerabilities. Many fear the same pattern could repeat with autonomous freight—especially when profit and efficiency drive deployment faster than regulation or public understanding can keep up.
For the trucking industry, the shift to automation isn’t just about technology—it’s about transformation. Major logistics companies, facing driver shortages and rising costs, are investing billions in autonomous systems. Yet every advance in efficiency seems to come at the expense of independence. What happens when the open road, once a symbol of American freedom and hard work, becomes just another node in a network of machines governed by remote algorithms?
There’s also a geopolitical dimension few acknowledge. As China and global tech conglomerates pour resources into autonomous transportation, American companies are racing to stay ahead. The question isn’t only whether AI can drive safely—it’s who controls the data, infrastructure, and decision-making systems behind it. Once again, control of the road could mirror control of the nation itself.
Still, there’s no denying the achievements. AI truck systems have mastered complex tasks once thought impossible for machines—navigating traffic, adjusting for crosswinds, predicting driver behavior, even handling emergency lane merges. Engineers argue these systems could dramatically reduce highway deaths caused by fatigue, distraction, or intoxication. If implemented responsibly, they might indeed save thousands of lives.
But “responsibly” is the key word. Americans have reason to be cautious when Big Tech and Big Logistics promise a utopia of automation. What begins as innovation often becomes dependency. The same corporations that assure us their AI trucks will make roads safer also profit when human drivers—and the freedom they represent—disappear.
Faith, family, and freedom aren’t just cultural ideals—they’re principles that shape how we navigate a changing world. The push toward autonomous everything threatens to erode personal responsibility and human connection under the guise of progress. It’s not enough to ask whether the technology works. We must ask whether it serves us—or whether we are slowly being programmed to serve it.
For now, the machines may have won the test. But the real question isn’t who drives better. It’s who decides where we’re going.
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Jim
That can be done remotely................
Tesla cyber cabs are being deployed and will control the market because they will be less expensive.
They are said to be coming off the TESLA assembly lines in great numbers.
“The trial was conducted under tightly controlled but real-world conditions,“
Seems the be a contradiction in there somewhere.
It appears you have not done much driving on two lane highways behind big trucks that do go slow. They are a huge safety hazard.
Back in the day when big trucks were under powered it was common for them to shift down to speeds of 40 mph on a steep incline. This made passing very difficult, especially if there was plenty of oncoming traffic.
Several years ago I talked to a state trooper about speeding tickets, and was told they let truckers exceed the speed limit going down a hill so they can make it up the next. The reason was safety, just like I described above.
And many trucks are hauling time sensitive loads, like UPS, FedEx, and USPS where the shipments are to be on time. Your huge reduction in speed would greatly affect this.
AI is not yet perfected to be safe for any self driving vehicle. The time may come, but it’s not now.
I can appreciate your sentiment. And yes, things never stay the same. One of the reasons they’re targeting trucking is due to the turnover and endless need for drivers - which also raises the pay (and therefore business expense). So it will, inevitably, be a target.
Self-driving trucks are an inevitability, it’s just a matter of when. While you raise a good point about an ethical responsibility to help during incidents, it’s not a primary or secondary function, it’s an outlier event that won’t change this direction - especially if the counter argument is that fewer trucking incidents will occur (due to fatigue, distractions, ILLEGALS BEING GIVEN CDL’S, etc.).
Most likely, trucking will be transformed into “last mile” drivers. Trucks automatically doing the long-haul, local drivers going to a local depot to drive loads to their final destination.
Well, just think how much better it would be for the environment if there were no people..! Ask Bill Gates, he'll tell you....
Always remember to take medical advice from people advocating drastic reduction of human population . . .
Computer failures occur less often than people failures. Also, computer drivers won't be texting or talking on the phone.
I haven’t even considered asking Billy anything in decades.
You are probably right, it is most likely inevitable, and their is a shortage of truckers, seems no one wants to do it anymore, which is a shame. It is probably due to the fact that I always want to be in control, and just dont trust “modern technology” all that much. How many times have drivers been thrown off course by GPS screwups?
AI truck systems in battle with illegals who will win place your bets now.
Good points, except an AI truck driver never needs to sleep. On a 1,000 mile trip, a slower AI truck might arrive about the same time.
I understand your skepticism.
fyi...I’m in the automotive software industry. There’s different “levels” of software, some that require processes and procedures that must be aligned with “functional safety state of the art” standards. Typically there’s 5 levels...we can call the them 0-4. A level “0” software product has zero safety concern, this is your typical software or operating system (e.g. Windows + Browser). A level “1” and higher must adhere to these “functional safety” standards, which get more and more challenging to meet as you go from 1 to 4.
Navigation applications aren’t even considered a level “1”. A class 8 truck, being fully autonomous, would be a level “4” - where everything must have redundancy and insane amounts of testing for failure cases. This is very hard to achieve, even for simple things. This doesn’t guarantee that something is perfect, only that you’ve followed best practices to “eliminate unreasonable risk”. It’s part of the reason long-haul trucking is a target, it’s generally the easier part.
SO-—IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT——WHO GETS SUED?
WHO IS THE INSURED??
And like I said, a slower truck impedes other traffic. Vehicles will backup behind it on hills and curves on two lane roads. The state police I mentioned want an even flow of traffic for safety reasons.
And what about two AI trucks on a four lane or larger going side by side trying to pass one another? Talk about backed up traffic and road rage. Conventional trucks do it today, only they are clipping along at 65 mph on an 80 mph interstate, side by side, trying to pass one another.
Interstate speeds in our state are 85 mph. A vehicle going 40 would be a huge safety hazard.
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