The consulting company INRIX named I-5 from Canada to the California border as the best place to roll out driverless trucks in America.
The company cited the high volume of semi’s now using the interstate, the relative lack of congestion and long stretches of roadway between cities.
Avery Ash, the head of Autonomous Mobility at INRIX, said the self-driving trucks will be here sooner rather than later, and likely improve safety.
“The expectation is that there will be tremendous safety benefits from this technology, cameras and sensors, they don't get tired. They don’t drink. They don’t get distracted,” Ash said. “And they can avoid the 94% of crashes on us-- fatal crashes on us roads that are a result of human error.”
The company found Interstate 5 would be the best place in America to start using self-driving semis, either with a driver in the truck but doing other things or with a driver that meets the truck on the edge of cities.
Either way--professional drivers now using I-5 are skeptical.
Jesse Bradshaw hauls tiny homes.
“Just towing this thing up here in the last 20 minutes -- this thing wagging all over the place--and I gotta make corrections on the fly--to not go flying off the side of the road,” Bradshaw said. “I just don't think that computers are there yet.”