Safety

ATLANTA — The inspections that will accompany electronic logging device mandate enforcement will require heightened visibility and vigilance among carriers, according to Tom McLeod, chief executive officer of McLeod Software.

Federal transportation agencies hosted a truck platooning demonstration on Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia last week to showcase the advancements of autonomous technology ready for commercial use next year.

Although Trump made big promises during the campaign and in his first days in the White House, the administration’s initial plan is for a meager $200 billion spread out over a decade and is reliant on private partnerships.

Frank Marino sat in a repurposed U.S. Coast Guard boat bobbing in Boston Harbor one morning late last month. He pointed the boat straight at a buoy several hundred yards away, while his colleague Mohamed Saad Ibn Seddik used a laptop to set the vehicle on a course that would run right into it.

Navistar’s president and CEO told a Senate panel last week that autonomous vehicle technology likely won’t eliminate the need for truck drivers, but drivers may need to gain new skills as they’re asked to manage several trucks at once.

The country’s top transportation official will update trucking executives about the Trump administration’s policies and objectives at the Management Conference & Exhibition hosted by American Trucking Associations next month in Orlando, Fla.

WASHINGTON — As autonomous technology evolves, drivers will remain integral to the movement of goods and services for the foreseeable future, top trucking executives told senators concerned about potential disruptions in the labor force.

A U.S. Senate committee is considering whether legislation dealing with the future of self-driving cars should also pave the way to self-driving trucks, considering the impact such technology could have on millions of workers.