WASHINGTON — American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear told lawmakers Wednesday he is willing to look any truck driver in the eye and promise autonomous trucks will not take their job.
Spear called for a national framework for the technology, which he said will help bridge a current shortage of about 78,000 drivers that could grow to 1.2 million in the next decade, according to ATA estimates and projections.
“Displacement is a myth,” Spear told a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee. “And if we didn't have a shortage, we'd be having a candid discussion about people losing their jobs. That is not the case here. There's no data to support that. ... There's plenty of room for innovation to play a role. We need to embrace it.”
The congressional hearing on autonomous trucks took place during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, prompting criticism from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association in advance of the 3.5-hour hearing. No drivers were among the four witnesses called to testify.
Aurora Innovation co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association Executive Director Jeff Farrah, and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety President Cathy Chase testified alongside Spear about the industry’s progress and handling of safety and other concerns.
Truck drivers’ ‘critical’ role in AV development
Urmson touted the 50 loads per week Aurora’s autonomous trucks already haul on a pair of routes in Texas for FedEx, Schneider and others.
The AV truck tech developer has around 40 drivers on its payroll, and the company models its autonomous tech to learn from them, the co-founder said.
“Truck drivers are critical to how we develop this technology,” he said. “It's important to me they're actually employees of the company. They own equity in the company, and as the company is successful, we anticipate them benefiting from that success.”
Exacerbating the growing issue of driver constraints in the coming years, Farrah noted, the Department of Defense projects U.S. freight volume to grow by 50% by 2050.
“We believe autonomous trucking is one of the solutions,” Farrah said. “By helping to move more freight, we can create more opportunities for all, especially jobs for truck drivers in their communities. In addition to new economic opportunities, this will lead to a better quality of life for our nation's truck drivers.”
‘A kick in the teeth’ to truck drivers
OOIDA President Todd Spencer issued a statement calling the decision to highlight autonomous trucks on a week dedicated to truck drivers “a kick in the teeth to the hardworking men and women behind the wheel who keep America’s supply chain running every day.”
“Mega carriers can hardly wait to replace millions of American truck driving jobs with autonomous trucks in order to save a buck,” Spencer said.
Several of the witnesses in the hearing mentioned the 43,000 people killed on U.S. roads in 2021. The AV industry representatives suggested autonomous trucking could help reduce fatalities.
Chase described truck driving as one of the nation’s most dangerous jobs.
Rigorous testing, effective regulation setting, minimum performance standards and industry accountability — among other measures — must be in place to ensure safety as AV truck tech rolls out more widely, she said.
“In other words, we need to know what's happening on our roads, and we need to make them safe,” Chase said.
