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WASHINGTON — American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear told lawmakers Wednesday that he’s willing to look any truck driver in the eye and promise that autonomous trucks won’t take their jobs.
Spear called for a national framework for the technology, which he said would help bridge a current shortage of about 78,000 drivers that could grow to 1.2 million over the next decade, according to ATA estimates and projections.
“Displacement is a myth,” Spear told a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee. “And if we didn’t have a shortage, we’d be talking frankly about people losing their jobs. That doesn’t happen here. There is no data to support this. … There is plenty of room for innovation to play a role. We have to embrace it.”
The congressional hearing for autonomous trucks was held during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, drawing criticism from the Independent Owner-Operator Drivers Association before the 3.5-hour hearing. No driver was among the four witnesses called to testify.
Aurora Innovation Co-Founder and CEO Chris Urmson, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association Executive Director Jeff Farrah and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety President Cathy Chase testified with Spear about the industry’s progress and handling of security and other concerns.
The ‘critical’ role of truck drivers in AV development
Urmson touted the 50 loads a week Aurora’s autonomous trucks already carry on a pair of routes in Texas for FedEx, Schneider and others.
The AV truck technology developer has about 40 drivers on its payroll, and the company is shaping its autonomous technology to learn from them, the co-founder said.
“Truck drivers are critical to how this technology is developed,” he said. “It is important to me that they are actually employees of the company. They have equity in the company and as the company is successful, we expect them to benefit from that success.”
Exacerbating the growing issue of driver limitations in the coming years, Farrah noted, the Department of Defense projects that the volume of U.S. freight transportation will increase by 50 percent by 2050.
“We think autonomous trucking is one of the solutions,” Farrah said. “By helping to move more freight, we can create more opportunities for everyone, especially jobs for truck drivers in their communities. In addition to new economic opportunities, this will lead to a better quality of life for our nation’s truck drivers.”
“A kick in the teeth” for truck drivers
OOIDA President Todd Spencer issued a statement calling the decision to highlight autonomous trucks during Truck Driver Week “a kick in the teeth to the hard-working men and women behind the wheel who keep America’s supply chain running every day.” .
“Mega carriers are eager to replace millions of American truck driving jobs with autonomous trucks to save money,” Spencer said.
Several of the witnesses at the hearing mentioned the 43,000 people killed on US roads in 2021. AV industry representatives suggested that autonomous trucking could help reduce deaths.
Chase described truck driving as one of the most dangerous jobs in the nation.
Rigorous testing, effective regulation, minimum performance standards and industry accountability — among other measures — must be in place to ensure safety as truck AV technology becomes more widely available, he said.
“In other words, we need to know what’s happening on our roads and we need to make them safe,” Chase said.