Posted on 10/16/2026 6:28:13 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
They’re on the interstate in Texas and can do almost everything a human truck driver does, except honk
On a busy freight corridor, the 240 miles of I-45 between Dallas and Houston, it was bumper-to-bumper, like usual, when something out-of-the-ordinary happened. A big rig let in several cars from the on-ramp. Another 18-wheeler changed lanes to make space for a truck pulled over on the shoulder.
Neither honked its horn—the baritone blasts anyone who has ever driven a hatchback can’t forget.
They’re driverless trucks: they don’t need to honk and can’t on their own, said Aurora Innovation, a major driverless trucker. The trucks have a perception system that adjusts quickly without having to slam the brakes and sees and avoids potential hazards early. And without a driver, no honking in annoyance.
“It’s our job to continue to operate safely and build trust,” said Chris Urmson, who was the chief technology officer of Google’s self-driving car project that became Waymo and is now CEO of Aurora.
Self-driving cars are on the cusp of moving from novelty to commonplace. Waymo driverless taxis buzz around cities like San Francisco and Phoenix. Next up are the biggest, loudest, most-daunting-to-other-drivers vehicles on the highway: the trucks.
As more goods are trucked across the U.S. every day, moving them is getting more expensive. Businesses complain of an acute driver shortage. Drivers need to stop after 11 hours to rest; driverless trucks don’t, saving both time and fuel. The cost of diesel has risen 62% since late February.
This stretch of Texas, flat, straight and filled...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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Amazing. Perhaps they can even take passengers for a price.
Is it trained to ignore cute hitchhikers?
Apparently, the occupation that employs the 2nd largest number of men is truck driver (at 2M).
I see ghosts.
Or even become sentient and lay seige to survivors holed-up in a North Carolina truck stop fending for themselves against a mob of homicidal 18-wheelers.
They need a Sleeper Cab for Driverless Semi-Trucks?
Guess it’s for the ride-a-long guy?
To work the trailer connect
and disconnect, fuel the truck, etc.
(truck driver (at 2M).)
It becomes self-aware on August 29, 1997,
at 2:14 a.m. Eastern Time
Exactly when was the last time you saw a cute hitchhiker?
If I did I wouldn’t look. My wife is usually riding with me.
How about when a DPS Weight Man tries to pull it over for roadside inspection?
When the same Weight Man brings out the bathroom scales for the truck to gently drive its axles on?
They must have a Sleeper Cab for
a human being for those details LOL
Heh.
Spielberg’s best movie.
It says De Laurentiis on the poster.
Stephen King wrote a short story about just that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trucks_(short_story)
Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud!
They’re on the interstate in Texas and can do almost everything a human truck driver does, except honk
I guess that includes running over you and apologizing.
Smile as you go under! Seriously, I can’t help it, I will always trust a human more. It does sound like it would be a good thing in the Australian Outback however.
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