Self-Driving Trucks Are Real. So Are the Questions.

I'll admit, autonomous trucking is just as new and fascinating to me as it probably is to many of you.

It's still hard to wrap my head around the idea of a massive semi-truck cruising down an American highway with nobody behind the wheel. Just a few years ago, this sounded like science fiction. Today, the technology is real, it's advancing quickly, and it's becoming part of the transportation industry whether we're ready for it or not.

At ACT Expo, I had a chance to get up close with Volvo's autonomous truck and talk to Sasko Cuklev from Volvo Autonomous Solutions. I could walk around the truck, touch it, examine the technology, and even sit inside. This wasn't some futuristic drawing or a computer simulation. It was a real machine, built to operate on real roads.

And I had a lot of questions.

How does a truck this big know what's happening around it? What happens when something fails? Can it handle snow? Can it back a 53-foot trailer into a loading dock?

What fascinated me most was learning how much engineering goes into making all of this possible. We're talking about cameras, radars, LiDAR sensors, onboard computers, and backup systems for critical functions like steering and braking. This isn't simply a regular Volvo VNL with a computer strapped to the roof. The truck was designed with autonomous operation in mind from the beginning.

And while the technology is impressive, Sasko was also open about its limitations. There are still tasks that require human involvement, weather presents challenges, and the industry has plenty of work ahead before these trucks can handle everything a professional driver does.

But here's something that really stood out to me.

When I asked Sasko whether there was a race to be the first company to put autonomous trucks on the highway, his answer was reassuring. Volvo's priority, he explained, isn't winning that race. It's building a safe and reliable product.

And that's exactly what I wanted to hear.

When we're talking about machines this big sharing the road with families, commuters, and professional drivers, safety cannot be an afterthought.

I understand why some truck drivers are skeptical, and I think their questions and concerns deserve serious answers. I'm still learning about this technology myself. But I also believe we can't ignore something simply because it challenges what we've known our entire lives.

Whether you're a driver, fleet owner, or transportation executive, we all have a reason to understand what's happening. We don't have to agree on what the future of trucking should look like, but we should at least understand the technology that's helping shape it.

What seemed impossible just a few years ago is now something I can see, touch, and experience firsthand. That's pretty incredible.

I invite you to watch my conversation with Sasko Cuklev. We explore how Volvo's autonomous trucks actually work, what they can do today, where the limitations are, and why safety remains such an important part of the conversation.

The future of trucking is becoming very real. And I think the more we learn about it, the better prepared we'll be for whatever comes next.

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