Earlier today in Nevada, the world's first self-driving semi-truck crossed the Hoover Dam. Freightliner was given a license to test out its autonomously driving tractor trailer in the Silver State, which has legislation allowing self-driving vehicles, and today's was the first test of the (sort of) driverless truck on public roads. 

The truck isn't entirely autonomous--there will always be a licensed driver behind the wheel, but a human will only actually take the wheel while driving in cities and suburbs. The Freightliner Inspiration itself will be in control while driving on limited-access interstates. The truck functions through a combination of sensors, cameras, and radar that are hooked up to the vehicle's controls (see video below for full details). Many people find the idea of sharing the road with an 80,000-pound vehicle controlled by a robot unsettling, but consider this: in 2013, truck-related deaths increased for the fourth year in a row, even as overall traffic fatalities decreased. Fatigue is a leading factor of trucking-related deaths, and many truckers are not getting what science decrees as sufficient rest. In a briefing, Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration David Friedman said, "We do know tired truckers are a risk on our roads. Any effort to reduce the number of people who are tired or drowsy on the road can have an impact." 

So while naysayers advise fear in the face of this technological advancement, it's hard to imagine the situation getting much worse than it already is. We know that truckers are driving when they're too exhausted to function, and, quite simply, robots don't get tired. 

  Freightliner Inspiration website