The future is here, and it came in the form of a self-driving tractor-trailer built by Daimler and sold by Freightliner Trucks. The Freightliner Inspiration is the first road ready, mostly autonomous semi in the country, and it gave the world a view of what it could do in early May when it traveled across the Hoover Dam.

The Inspiration trucks – there are two – are licensed to travel in Nevada, but still require a person behind the wheel. The driver will take control of the truck on surface roads, but can use an autopilot feature on highways to allow the truck to drive itself. But as reported in Wired, “execs say it can’t change lanes on its own, it won’t be market-ready for a decade, and could never replace human drivers.”

The argument for safety

So why even build the truck, if a driver must always be present? Daimler and Freightliner makes a simple claims: it would keep people safer. Right now, driver fatigue accounts for an average of 35,000 motor vehicle accidents a year, resulting in thousands of deaths. In 2015 so far, 31 truck accidents have been fatal. According to Daimler’s tests and research, “it was possible to prove that drowsiness was reduced by 25 percent when the truck operated in autonomous mode.” Daimler also points out that autonomous mode allows drivers to “Engage” with their surroundings, and frees up their time to handle other elements of their job, allowing them to handle secondary tasks and “create career opportunities for drivers to become transport manager” because they “can get their office work done conveniently while on the road.”

Spotting the fallacy in the argument

Here’s the rub: how can a driver engage with his surroundings and ensure that the truck is safe if he or she is actively doing another part of the job while in the truck? If the trucks are so safe that the driver can play on a tablet while traveling, then why do they need a driver at all?

We know why: it’s because machines are only as capable as the people who make them. They are not infallible; the absolutely last thing we need on the road are semi-trucks being driven by distracted or completely disengaged “drivers” who may or not be aware enough to handle an emergency situation. Furthermore, it was Daimler’s own tests that showed the lesser percentage of fatigue – not an independent study.

There may come a day when self-driving vehicles, even semi-trucks, can be safely operated on our roads, but that day is clearly many years in the future. We should be careful, and require exhaustive independent testing prior to allowing these vehicles on Tennessee roads.

If you were injured in an accident with a commercial truck and want to learn more about your options, please contact Banks and Jones in Knoxville.