One of the most consistent questions surrounding autonomous trucking is rooted in how a driverless truck interacts with law enforcement when the responsibility of navigating a traffic stop – from pulling over to handing over paperwork – is a very people-to-people transaction.
Working in conjunction with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, autonomous trucking technology company Embark Trucks said it developed the capability for Embark-powered semis to identify and stop for law enforcement vehicles; built communication protocols and standard operating procedures between autonomous trucks and officers; and recently completed the first known public demonstration of an autonomous truck being pulled over by law enforcement and participating in a routine traffic stop on a public highway.
“The ability to engage safely in emergency vehicle interactions is necessary to operate an autonomous vehicle on public roads,” said Emily Warren, Embark Trucks head of public policy. "Law enforcement always needs to be able to stop a commercial vehicle – autonomous or not – to ensure compliance with the law. This capability was designed to work seamlessly within existing law enforcement workflows, without requiring new training or technology investment by first responders.”
An Embark spokesperson told CCJ that the company's autonomous driving software – Embark Driver – is designed to comply with all traffic laws, "so we don’t expect Embark-powered trucks to be pulled over regularly." However, law enforcement has the authority to execute a routine traffic stop on any vehicle operating on a highway "and our system must be able to accommodate that. Situations that could require a pullover might include an officer observing a burned-out tail light or a damaged reflector that became inoperable after the truck began its haul that day."
Embark’s externally accessible lockbox, containing information such as registration and bills of lading, as well as a toll-free number to contact an Embark Guardian support technician, are also included in the company’s plans to assist law enforcement officers as they perform roadside traffic stops.
Embark's engineering team then developed an interaction procedure with input from law enforcement that can enable any law enforcement officer to safely stop, approach and receive information from an autonomous truck without additional equipment. When commercially deployed, this effort may include outfitting Embark trucks with clear visual cues and information to signal to law enforcement and other first responders that an Embark-powered truck is an autonomous vehicle and has come to a safe stop with no risk of restarting unexpectedly. Embark’s externally accessible lockbox, containing information such as registration and bills of lading, as well as a toll-free number to contact an Embark Guardian support technician, are also included in the company’s plans to assist law enforcement officers as they perform roadside traffic stops.
To develop this capability, Embark, TCSO, and Texas DPS executed comprehensive data collection and testing from April to June that included closed-course activity at the Texas A&M University RELLIS Campus test track as well as public road demonstrations. During Embark’s industry-first demonstration, which took place in late June on Texas State Highway 130 near Austin, deputies from the TCSO’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division followed an Embark-powered truck along a designated route and successfully completed a traffic stop of the Embark truck.
