Move over Waymo, the big rigs are coming through | Opinion

As president and CEO of an organization charged with supporting Arizona’s technology ecosystem, it’s no surprise that tech is my primary focus. But admittedly, getting behind the wheel and hitting the open road is a major passion of mine. Maybe it’s a gene I carry from my father, whose career as a long-haul trucker had him crisscrossing America.

That’s why my interest piqued with the recent news of one company using driverless trucks to open the longest continuous driverless commercial corridor in the United States, with a 1,000-mile run between Phoenix and Fort Worth.

To understand why this technology matters, you have to first understand the extraordinary demands of life on the road. Dad knew he was critical to the supply chain, but that didn’t make the weeks away or the shifts as long as 11 hours less grueling for him and others. When the job is that demanding, it takes a toll on truck drivers and their ability to keep themselves and others safe. In fact, the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis discovered human error is a factor in roughly 94% of motor vehicle crashes.

How do driverless trucks work?

Drivers reacting to distractions, traveling too fast and fighting sleepiness are why the quiet evolution of autonomous freight transportation happening on our roads is so significant. With 360-degree awareness powered by lidar, radar and cameras, these vehicles don’t blink, drift or look away.

Letting technology handle long, monotonous highway miles isn’t reckless. It’s responsible. By realizing the benefits of driverless vehicles, we are making a proactive choice to ensure our families share the road with the most attentive drivers ever built.

Arizona’s role in this is no coincidence. The state’s transformation into a premier hub for technology and innovation brings a new set of challenges: more demand on our infrastructure, more pressure on supply chains and a heightened need for highway safety. We can’t support a modern economy with outdated logistics.

Arizona can be global logistical hub with driverless freight

Thankfully, while other states mired themselves in red tape, our leaders created a clear-eyed regulatory environment that allowed the Silicon Desert to flourish. This foresight has helped turn the state into a global hub for logistics.

The benefits of this expansion are tangible for every resident. Autonomous trucks can operate more efficiently and reduce fuel consumption by optimizing throttle and braking. In an era of stubborn inflation, this efficiency helps smooth out the supply chain bottlenecks that drive up the cost of groceries and gas.