No human fleet beat this driverless truck's safety score

What are the main hurdles currently to getting autonomous trucks on the road?

Autonomous trucks are already operating on roads today. They aren't on every road yet, but autonomy is no longer a future concept. It's happening now.

Kodiak already has a customer that owns 28 fully driverless trucks that operate up to 24/7 in the Permian Basin. Those trucks are moving real loads and creating real business value every day.

The industry’s challenge is no longer proving the technology works; it's proving it can scale. That means transitioning from developing autonomous systems to delivering products that customers can deploy, operate and expand across their fleets.

At Kodiak, we've already begun this transition. We're working closely with our customer to deploy additional driverless trucks, increase the value each truck delivers and simplify the product experience so employees can operate alongside autonomy without extensive specialized training.

To achieve true scale, we need to repeat that success with more customers, in more fleets and ultimately across more markets.

What do you see as the biggest promise and gain for the industry as a whole of having driverless trucks?

The greatest promise of driverless trucking is the potential to make freight transportation both safer and more efficient, saving lives while growing the economy.

Safety comes first. Autonomous systems don’t get tired, speed or text while driving. They maintain constant attention and follow consistent driving practices, which gives the industry a real opportunity to reduce crashes caused by fatigue, distraction and other human errors.

The second major benefit is productivity. Because driverless trucks can operate up to nearly 24 hours a day, they can help fleets increase asset utilization and move freight with fewer interruptions. This can pave the way toward a more reliable supply chain and lower operating costs.

But the bigger point is not about autonomous driving; it is to create a safer, more dependable freight system that benefits carriers, shippers and everyday people who rely on goods getting where they need to go.

You recently began hauling with Roehl on a Dallas-Houston route. What have been the early results and benefits of that project and any lessons learned?

Since April, we have delivered 90 Roehl loads and driven nearly 20,000 miles between Dallas and Houston. We currently operate four weekly round trips with a safety driver onboard and will increase to five round trips per week starting in mid-July.

The program provides Kod2iak and Roehl with practical experience integrating autonomous technology into daily operations. Beyond the Kodiak Driver’s driving performance, we are learning how our autonomous driving system fits within Roehl’s dispatch, scheduling, freight-handling and safety processes.

We have also learned that successful deployment requires close coordination across all operations. Roehl’s strong safety culture and operational expertise make it an ideal partner as we refine the service, validate performance and prepare for Kodiak’s driverless long-haul launch targeted for the end of this year.

A lot of people—both inside and outside of the trucking industry—feel that autonomous vehicles aren't safe. What's your response to that?

If you are in a city where autonomous cars are deployed, go take a ride because seeing is believing.

The AV trucking industry has earned an incredible safety record over the last decade, and Kodiak is no exception. Before operating without a driver, we develop a safety case to assess whether the Kodiak Driver is prepared for a specific environment. This process includes extensive on-road testing, simulation and structured analysis of both routine and rare scenarios.

Kodiak Driver-equipped trucks include redundant steering, braking, power and computing so they can come to a safe stop if a component fails. The health and safety of all trucks are overseen by a command center and a human can remotely provide assistance should a truck need additional help.

We are proud that an independent evaluation by Nauto gave Kodiak the highest score in a safety study, tying for first place and outperforming 1,000 human-driven fleets.

As more AVs hit the road, do you believe it could hurt small business trucking companies? Or, does it present an opportunity for them?

I believe autonomous trucking is an opportunity for small carriers as well as large fleets. Driverless trucks can increase capacity on long-haul routes where recruiting and retaining drivers is challenging, allowing human drivers to focus on roles that require flexibility, customer interaction and local expertise.

Autonomy also doesn't require every carrier to own the technology themselves. Just as many fleets lease equipment or contract for logistics services today, autonomous capacity can become another tool that carriers of all sizes can use to better serve their customers.

Ultimately, we don't see this as autonomous trucks replacing trucking companies. We see it as giving carriers another mode of transportation to utilize. The best future is one where autonomous trucks and professional drivers work together to move freight more efficiently.

What do you think are the biggest unanswered questions right now related to autonomous trucks and their future?

One of the biggest unanswered questions has been whether the United States would establish a consistent national regulatory framework for autonomous trucks. A significant step forward came in May with the introduction of the bipartisan BUILD America 250 Act, which would, for the first time, create a comprehensive federal policy framework for the safe deployment of autonomous trucks.

While 26 states already allow autonomous driving today, without a federal framework, it is difficult for customers and partners to understand where they can operate autonomously legally. If enacted, the legislation would provide greater regulatory certainty for an industry that depends on interstate commerce.

Kodiak works closely with regulators both at the state and federal level to ensure key stakeholders are aware of where our driverless trucks are operating. We fully support a federal framework that provides clarity and focuses on measurable safety outcomes that will better the industry as a whole.