Self-driving truck company claims rig shaved 10 hours off 24-hour test trip

Self-driving truck company, TuSimple, recently conducted a 900-mile test run of one of its driverless vehicles, delivering a load of produce in just over 14 hours.

On May 3 the company tested its trucks by hauling fresh watermelons along a 951-mile route across four states, from Nogales, Arizona, to Oklahoma City. TuSimple partnered with Giumarra and the Associated Wholesale Grocers for the test.

The pick-up and delivery of the produce was done manually with a human driver, while the longest leg of the journey, from Tucson, Arizona, to Dallas, Texas, was done autonomously using TuSimple’s self-driving technology.

The trip normally takes around 24 hours, however, TuSimple’s automated driving allowed a 42% faster run of 14 hours and six minutes, claims the company.

According to CNBC, the pilot was done with a safety driver on-board partly to comply with a patchwork of local regulations in the U.S. 

TuSimple plans to operate its trucks without needing a safety driver on board by the end of 2024.