ILMA Compoundings October 2017 - 46

COUNSEL COMPOUND

Autonomous Trucks
Almost Here
By Jeff Leiter

hen I was a kid, I was
taught in math that all
squares are rectangles,
but not all rectangles are squares. I
have applied this same distinction to
my ongoing curiosity about business
disruptors and innovators. While all
disruptors are innovators, not all innovators are disruptors.
Along these lines, I continue to have
conversations with ILMA members
about the presentation by global futurist
Jack Uldrich at last April's Management
Forum. One of his slides highlighted
that while most of the attention in
transportation has been focused on
autonomous, or driverless, cars, autonomous trucks will become a reality. The
question is when, not if. Likely, it will be
within the next five years.
It seemed implausible - and a bit
frightening - that 18-wheel driverless trucks would be traveling down
the same highway with me. Because
ILMA members have considerable
market share in the heavy-duty engine
oil market, I did a little research, going
to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA). FMCSA,
which writes some of the regulations
for commercial vehicles at the federal
level, says "highly automated commercial vehicles" (HACVs), which
can take control of driving tasks, can
provide significant potential benefits
for safety and sustainability (including
possible extended drain intervals).
FMCSA is encouraging advanced
safety technologies on commercial vehicles because of the increased public
discussions on HACVs, and because
developers are accelerating their
efforts to develop these technologies.
Self-driving trucks already are being
tested in real-world situations.

OCTOBER 2017

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For example, a self-driving truck
built by Uber's autonomous technology group Ottomotto LLC (Otto) traveled some 120 miles across Colorado
last year, from Fort Collins to Colorado
Springs, without a driver behind the
wheel to deliver over 2,000 cases of
beer. Volvo Trucks is selling self-driving
trucks for mining uses where the risks
to humans from technology malfunctions are lower. Tesla and Nikola
Motors have both committed to
developing electric self-driving trucks.
Bendix offers collision mitigation systems with radar and camera technology for commercial trucks, along with
automatic emergency braking systems.
HACVs' proponents argue that such
technology means the vehicles have
faster reaction times, cannot be distracted and are safer than trucks operated by
drivers. They also suggest that autonomous trucks can help combat the
ongoing shortage of truck drivers.
From an environmental standpoint,
I have seen estimates that autonomous
vehicles could save 3.1 billion gallons
of wasted fuel and cut 6.9 billion
hours from travel times. Some trucking fleets have begun testing HACVs
that have been digitally tethered to
travel in single file or a platoon to
reduce drag. Other trucking companies are experimenting with predictive
cruise control systems that continuously calculate the most efficient speed
and gear to optimize fuel economy.
While driverless trucks are coming
fast, the federal and state regulations
needed to allow HACVs to operate
on a widespread basis are not. The
U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT), which includes FMCSA,
has begun to recognize that driver-

less commercial vehicles are rapidly
becoming a pressing regulatory issue.
Earlier this year, DOT created an
advisory committee whose charge
includes making recommendations on
the development and deployment of
autonomous commercial vehicles.
FMCSA also has conducted public
listening sessions this year, and it has
asked for comments on issues "relating
to the design, development, testing
and deployment of highly automated
commercial vehicles," including regulatory provisions applicable to drivers,
vehicles and equipment. FMCSA said
it wants to "ensure that the federal
safety regulations provide appropriate
standards for the safe operation of
HACVs from design and development
through testing and deployment."
I looked at most of nearly four dozen comments submitted to FMCSA,
and views on HACVs were diverse.
Clearly, there are numerous issues
and problems that the government
must resolve before HACVs will be
operating on our roads alongside
driverless cars and traditional vehicles.
In addition, regulators and trucking
companies need to deal with unions,
including the Teamsters, and their
issues as part of the shift to driverless
commercial vehicles.
While the government figures out
how to manage the transition to
autonomous cars and trucks, the transition appears to be inevitable and is
coming at an accelerated pace. Buckle
up for the ride!
Leiter serves as general
counsel to ILMA, representing
the Association since 1981. He
may be reached at 202-4666502 or jleiter@bmalaw.net.

http://www.ILMA.ORG

ILMA Compoundings October 2017

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