TECH & AI
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n 2021 , self-driving vehicles travelled approximately 4 million miles in California alone , which was double the previous year ’ s total .
Many of these miles were completed by non-commercial vehicles , but the trucking industry – in the US and beyond – is well positioned to reap the benefits of autonomous vehicle ( AV ) technology .
The push for AV solutions in road haulage is primarily about safety . According to statistics from Uber Freight , more than 5,000 lives were lost in large-truck crashes in 2019 , including those of 892 truck drivers and occupants . Around one-third of these accidents occurred on interstates , freeways , and expressways – all roadways on which AV trucking solutions work best .
Of these fatal accidents , just 13 % were caused by vehicular or environmental factors . The remaining 87 % were caused by driver error around performance ( 21 %), decisions ( 38 %), and recognition ( 28 %).
AV technology has the potential to address such safety issues , says Mazen Danaf , Senior Applied Scientist & Economist at Uber Freight .
Danaf focuses on analysing the truck transportation landscape , and produces long-term forecasts based on supply and demand indicators . He is also a research affiliate with the Intelligent Transportation Systems Lab at MIT , which studies transportation systems and develops network modelling-and-simulation tools .
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