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Werner Enterprises is reviewing self-driving truck technologies and their potential use on the road, but potential adoption and transitions won’t be quick, a company executive said.
Currently, a limited number of businesses means less competition and AVs may be more expensive in the early years of the technology spread out, unfold, unfoldsaid Chad Dittberner, SVP of van and expedited, in a May 2 interview.
Even if every trucking company and truck owner decided to buy an autonomous truck, it would take 15 years to replace every truck on the road today, he said.
“We know the light switch moment is not going to happen,” said Dittberner, who also sits on Kodiak’s Industry Advisory Council. “I think we will decide to put some on the road eventually, but it will be a very slow adoption.”
The Omaha, Nebraska-based carrier is looking at how different autonomous driving technologies compare and expects to add two more AV companies later this year, doubling its existing pilot partners, Dittberner said.
The current trial mix includes Aurora Innovation within Texas and Kodiak Robotics from Texas to Georgia.
Werner has also connected with drivers on the subject through an innovation-themed podcast, talking about a range of new technology and assuring them that they will be able to continue their careers with Werner.
“It’s one of those channels that we thought could help communicate and provide some insight to our professional drivers to get more insight into what we’re doing as a company,” said Associate VP of Marketing and Communications Jill Samuelson.
He noted how Werner’s Innovation Series for drivers has looked at different technologies, not just AV, that put the company at the forefront of new tools.
The Carrier it has a history thus implementing ELDs in 1998, using machine learning to provide real-time feedback on driving behaviors, and launching an innovation and technology initiative in 2020 called Werner EDGE.
For AVs, Dittberner has seen the progress tech companies are making to ensure their trucks are safe by personally driving the self-driving trucks in recent months.
“The ultimate goal is a truck that is never involved in an accident, which is the same goal as our drivers today,” he said.
Several companies have envisioned operating self-driving trucks without passengers starting this year in Texas to demonstrate that self-driving trucks can operate safely on public roads.
However, self-driving trucks available for purchase may not become a reality until around 2027, Dittberner said.
“A truck that’s up and running safely mile after mile is what we really want to figure out today,” he said. This echoed comments from a December podcast to drivers in which he said: “Like any other technology, we have to start understanding it.”