The Board of Directors of the Alliance for Driver Safety & Security (aka the Trucking Alliance) has announced its unanimous support for the development of autonomous driving technologies for commercial vehicles.

Per a Feb. 28 statement, the board stated that it “supports the development of advanced vehicle technologies that enable commercial drivers to utilize highly automated driving systems, enhancing their safety and security.” 

The board also said that the Alliance “supports the use of these technologies to achieve safety performance levels that rival commercial airlines” and supports other initiatives that focus on drivers and their safety, such as “advanced driver assisted technologies in commercial vehicles, rather than commercial vehicles that rely solely on full automation.” 

The statement pointed out as well that the Alliance “believes that commercial drivers are an indispensable asset to the safe operation of commercial vehicles” and that it “maintains the principle that commercial drivers are necessary to improve the safety and security of the general public.” 

In addition, the board said it “believes that commercial drivers are integral to supply chain accountability, as well as managing unforeseen weather events, emergencies, detours, vehicle conditions, computer software programs, cybersecurity disruptions, cargo security, and in providing efficient customer services.” 

The Alliance describes itself as a coalition of transportation and logistics companies, as well as supporting businesses, that are "committed to ensuring greater safety and security for commercial drivers and that support regulatory and legislative proposals that, if adopted, could reduce large truck accidents, injuries and fatalities that occur each year on the nations’ highways." 

The companies within the Alliance companies and the states they’re headquartered in are: Cargo Transporters (North Carolina), Dupré Logistics (Louisiana), JB Hunt Transport Services (Arkansas), KLLM Transport Services (Mississippi), Knight Transportation (Arizona), Maverick USA (Arkansas), and US Xpress (Tennessee).