Aurora’s self-driving trucks can now travel nonstop on a 1,000-mile route between Fort Worth and Phoenix — exceeding what a human driver can legally accomplish.
The distance, and the time it takes to travel it, offers up positive financial implications for Aurora — and any other company hoping to commercialize self-driving semitrucks.
It takes Aurora about 15 hours to carry freight in its driverless trucks on the 1,000-mile journey, according to the company. Human truck drivers take much longer to complete the same distance due to federal regulations that limit how long they can be behind the wheel. For instance, truck drivers must stop for a 30-minute break after eight hours and can operate a semitruck for a maximum of 11 hours at a time, according to federal regulations. Once drivers hit that threshold, they cannot get behind the wheel for another 10 hours…