The Ohio Department of Transportation and DriveOhio are conducting an $8 million four-year trial to put trucks on both states’ roads.
Ohio and Indiana have agreed to test semi-autonomous trucks on a 166-mile stretch of Interstate 70. The test should start in October of this year. But it could also be delayed until 2024.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and DriveOhio, a state government organization for intelligent mobility technology, plan to test semi-autonomous trucks on public roads with a budget of $8 million. The tests on the I-70 affect the Dayton and Springfield regions.
People will sit in every truck, since they are not autonomous trucks either. The project aims to Automation of trucks to advance in the logistics sector. The focus here is on the daily freight transport operations of truck fleets. The approximately 270-kilometer corridor runs between Columbus and Indianapolis.
Different levels of autonomous driving are tested, but always in the semi-autonomous area. The tests, it is emphasized, serve to improve traffic safety. The spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association emphasized that these levels must first work before fully autonomous vehicles are permitted. The issue of data sharing also needs to be clarified.
The authority has set up a website for the test project:
https://drive.ohio.gov/programs/av-cv/70-truck-automated-corridor