(NewsNation) — Driverless trucks might just be coming to a highway near you soon, but how soon depends on the laws in your specific state.
Here is what we know:
- 38 states and Washington, D.C. have some kind of law on the books regulating autonomous vehicles.
That includes 18 states that allow either testing or deployment of vehicles without a human operator on their roadways.
- Some states even allow what’s called “truck platooning.”
This is the practice when autonomous vehicles are grouped as a squad on the freeway. The cars or trucks are all linked with a computer system so the human monitoring can control every vehicle at once.
The good thing about it is it allows the trucks to reduce air drag and improve fuel economy which is better for business and the environment.
Autonomous vehicle technology is mainly regulated on the state level. At the moment, the only federal requirement is for companies to regularly submit their safety data.