Automated freight trucks are being tested out on some of the Midwest's busiest highways, thanks to a collaboration between the Ohio and Indiana Departments of Transportation.
The two state departments have been developing and testing new safety technology on freight trucks.
The trucks have been outfitted with many of the same features we find in our own vehicles, such as lane-keep assistance, automatic braking, and blind-spot warning and detection.
There are some more advanced features surrounding the trucks, like radars and cameras.
For instance, if one of these semis starts to drift into another lane or misses a speeding car passing it, this technology steers the truck back into its lane.
This technology will not eliminate drivers from being in the cab, but ODOT said it should keep everyone safe from human error.
"Humans are tired," Breanna Badanes with DriveOhio, a division of ODOT, said. "They're distracted, not just on their phones, but just their minds are always turning. If we can give them the tools to help them be a safer driver, that makes the road safer for everyone."
These automated trucks were most recently tested along Interstate 70, but ODOT and INDOT have tested them on other interstates as well.
They want to make sure this technology works in all types of climates and situations.
Private shipping and freight companies are involved with the study, too.
When the study wraps next summer, the results will be shared with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
