The futuristic idea may seem surreal, but it is being tested in this vast southern state, which has become the epicentre of a rapidly developing self-driving vehicle industry in the United States.
Before driverless trucks are allowed onto roads and highways, however, multiple tests must still be conducted to ensure they are safe.
Self-driving lorries are operated using radars, laser scanners, cameras and GPS antennas that communicate with piloting software.
“Each time we drive a kilometre in real life, we re-simulate a thousand more times on the computer by changing hundreds of parameters,” explains Pierre-François Le Faou, trucking partner development manager at Waymo, the self-driving unit at Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Waymo is building a logistics centre in Dallas that will accommodate hundreds of autonomous semi-trailers.
And it is by far not alone. Embark, a self-driving technology startup, operates an autonomous trucking lane between Houston and San Antonio, while Aurora, co-founded by a former Waymo employee, will open three terminals and a new 1,000km route in Texas this year.
In a sign of how competitive the autonomous trucking industry is, none of the three companies agreed to show AFP one of its vehicles.
Texas has the largest number of truck drivers and many qualified engineers, its sunny climate is great for the trucks’ sensors, and neighbouring Mexico exports 85% of its goods to Texas by road.
Local legislation is also friendly toward driverless vehicles. In 2018, Texas passed a law that essentially gave autonomous cars the same status as conventional vehicles.
With the US so vast and trucking such a vital part of its economy, companies see self-driving as a way to cut costs and reduce risk since, unlike with human drivers, autonomous vehicles don’t get tired and don’t require mandatory breaks.
While it will take a person three days to drive a truck from Los Angeles to Dallas, a self-driving big rig will complete the journey in 24 hours, estimates Aurora.
Jobs at risk
Alex Rodrigues, CEO and co-founder of Embark Technology, insists self-driving trucks will be crucial in combating the current shortage of long-haul truck drivers in the US, some of whom are unwilling to be away from their families for weeks at a time.
“Right now, there are containers in LA just sitting there not getting moved,” he says.
And he promises that the self-driving truck industry will create “attractive” jobs for local drivers, who will take over the autonomous trucks at transfer points and drive them to their final destinations.
Still, 294,000 trucking jobs would be threatened by the industry’s automation, according to a 2018 study conducted by Steve Viscelli, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley.
For Julio Moscoso, a 56-year-old driver in Texas, the arrival of driverless trucks is “not good news”.
He says while there are many trucking jobs available right now, this wasn’t always the case. He recalls a time over the past two years when “there wasn’t as much work”.
Most importantly, Moscoso says he wouldn’t trust driverless trucks. “It’s dangerous. What happens if the sensors fail?” he asks.
At the same time, he admits he does not want to do long-haul journeys anymore, and finds it uncomfortable to sleep in his cabin and not be able to shower every day.