Several points remain open. The reporting reviewed here does not confirm whether Aurora's planned El Paso and Phoenix routes are operating. Kodiak plans driverless freight on the Dallas–Houston route with no one in the cab, and Bot Auto plans a driverless I-10 route between West Houston and East San Antonio this year. Neither has been confirmed as running. Amy Witherite, a Texas-based attorney, says at least eight companies are operating or plan to operate driverless trucks on Texas highways with little oversight. Byron Bloch, an auto safety expert, calls federal oversight of these trucks "totally inadequate."
The shift matters because removing the safety driver is moving from pilot programs to routine service on busy interstates. Aurora's government relations chief points to a 2017 Texas law that allowed deployment of the technology, so state rules currently set the framework. Attorneys advising carriers, insurers, or shippers should track how Texas and federal regulators respond to more driverless fleets, who bears liability when a driverless truck is involved in a crash, and whether labor and trucker opposition leads to new legislation.