A company that's been working to put automated driverless big rigs on the road between Houston and Dallas says it's going to have people in the drivers seat for a while longer, though the trucks will still be on what you might call auto-pilot.
Aurora Innovation has been working toward eliminating drivers in the big trucks in favor of programmed driving between destination in Texas' two biggest cities.
The company said a few days ago in an announcement that, while it had planned to stop sending live human beings along on the trips as it gets the project going, it's decided to continue with people in the cabs, at least for the time being.
The drivers had been in the back seats of those cabs, but at the request of one of their business partners, Aurora says it's moving the driver into the front seat, simply as an observer.
Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association spokesperson Norita Taylor says one problem her organization worries about is the lack of discussion about safety when people and companies talk about driverless vehicles.
"We hear more about things like productivity, and scaling and competition than we hear about safety issues," she says.
"We've just sort of wondered if these [trucks] are ready for the scale they've talked about all along."
The association, of course, is also quite concerned that drivers are being eliminated as part of getting these vehicles on the road, but the group won't go along with talk about a driver shortage as being one reason for the automated trucks.
In the past, "they've also included narratives about trying to fill gaps because of a truck driver shortage, but that's been proven to be a myth," Ms. Taylor says.