Skip to main content

Ohio tests self driving truck

A self-driving truck developed by Otto has been travelling on two Ohio roads after state officials announced details of new investments to support innovative transportation technology, says Associated Press. The vehicle is travelling on a 35-mile stretch of US Route 33 and in central Ohio between Dublin and East Liberty, home to the Transportation Research Center, an independent testing facility. It travels in regular traffic, with a driver in the cab to intervene should problems arise. Officials say
December 1, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A self-driving truck developed by Otto has been travelling on two Ohio roads after state officials announced details of new investments to support innovative transportation technology, says Associated Press.

The vehicle is travelling on a 35-mile stretch of US Route 33 and in central Ohio between Dublin and East Liberty, home to the Transportation Research Center, an independent testing facility. It travels in regular traffic, with a driver in the cab to intervene should problems arise.

Officials say that section of Route 33, a four-lane, divided road, is an important piece of autonomous vehicle research in the state and will become a corridor where new technologies can be safely tested in real-life traffic, aided by a fibre-optic cable network and sensor systems slated for installation next year.

The self-driving truck is also expected to travel next week on part of the Ohio Turnpike.

The turnpike's executive director said in August that officials were moving toward allowing testing of self-driving vehicles on the 241-mile toll road, a heavily travelled connector between the East Coast and Chicago.

Related Content

  • Autonomous car accidents revealed in California
    May 13, 2015
    Associated Press (AP) recently reported that three of Google's self-driving cars have been involved in accidents since September, when California allowed them to begin using public roads. The parts supplier Delphi Automotive had one accident, which an accident report the company provided to AP showed was not its fault. Delphi said at the time the car was being driven by the person the DMV requires behind the wheel during testing. US consumer rights advocate Consumer Watchdog has now called on Google
  • Alcohol interlocks aid drink drive adherence
    October 28, 2016
    The use of alcohol interlocks to prevent drink driving and change driver behaviour is gaining ground around the world but needs greater buy-in from authorities as Colin Sowman discovers. The often repeated mantra says that prevention is better than cure - and none more so than in the case of drink-driving. The introduction of the breathalyser provided an objective indication of alcohol consumption instead of having drivers touch their nose or walk in a straight line. Initially breathalysers were used as a r
  • Taking tolling towards new opportunities
    May 18, 2016
    Vinci’s André Broto presented his views on how the tolling industry could play an important role in helping authorities ease urban congestion, to delegates at the IBTTA conference. As director of foresight and strategy at Vinci Autoroutes, France, André Broto has been spending some time considering the future of tolling in his own country and worldwide. He presented his thoughts, which include a very different angle of the causes of, and solutions to, congestion at the IBTTA’s (International Bridge, Tunnel
  • Report highlights community impact of new mobility options
    March 29, 2018
    Local authorities and communities must understand the impacts of the new mobility options and regulate to get the transport systems they want, according to a new report. Colin Sowman takes a look. Outside of the big cities plagued with congestion, the existing transportation system(s) often cope adequately, and the ongoing workload (maintenance, safety…) is more than enough to keep local transport authorities busy. Is it, therefore, a good use of public service employees’ time to keep abreast of the raft