Behind the Wheel of Freightliner’s Autonomous Truck
LAS VEGAS, NV -- Sometimes, trucking journalists like me do very funny things. Like getting certified to drive a truck that can pretty much drive itself. Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) took a few trucking reporters to Las Vegas earlier this week so they could drive the Freightliner Inspiration autonomous truck, introduced in North America earlier this year. The prerequisite to sit behind the self-steering wheel of the Inspiration was to hold a commercial driver's license. Fortunately, I got one a dozen years ago, otherwise, I would have missed what was waiting for me at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There were the two trucks at the event. Jim Martin, one of the few Freightliner engineers certified to drive the autonomous truck, would certify six trucking journalists, reminding us that nobody ever passed the test before.