A tech company is planning to test driverless vehicles in Atlanta in a very big way - with semi trucks.
Waymo, a company connected to Google's parent corporation Alphabet, announced its driverless trucks will be on Atlanta roads in the next week.
"You only have to drive on 285, 75, 85, the Connector once or twice to realize how congested it can get and how much traffic there is and that is a challenge," Georgia Tech Professor Michael Hunter said. "That is a challenge these vehicles may have to weave through seven lanes. You don't get that in a lot of places."
Hunter researches how driverless vehicles might interact with existing roads and traffic.
"As long as there are still people driving on the road, then our job is to make sure people driving can do it safely and it is the job of the people building those vehicles to make them operate safely in our world," he said.
Waymo announced its trucks will have a trained driver behind the wheel ready to take control if needed similar to the successful 120-mile beer delivery, this self-driving semi-truck made in Colorado in 2016.
Waymo picked Atlanta because it is one of the biggest transportation hubs in America. The trucks use a series of sensors similar to the ones on the company's minivans.
The same tech is used in the driverless cars in Arizona with no one in the driver's seat. SO could a world of driverless semis cut down on Atlanta's congestion?
"Might you say, 'I know this thing has to give if I'm sufficiently aggressive. It's safety parameters tell me it will brake. If I'm in a work zone and I need to merge in, I'm going to cut the driverless car off, because I know it has to give in'," Hunter said.
If too many drivers take advantage, a ripple effect could lead to new congestion. ANd, until the number of cars on our roads is reduced, they will still be just as packed.
In a tweet, Governor Nathan Deal welcomed Waymo to town writing:
"As we look to the future of innovation, self-driving technology is at the forefront of enhancing roadway safety and making the transportation of American goods more efficient."
So can these trucks actually make roads safer?
Experts say driverless tech can take distracted driving, drunk driving, and other factors out of the equation. And Hunter said the idea of driverless cars isn't new. But more real-to-life tests are still needed before that question can be answered one way or the other.
