HDR’s Keith Bucklew Explores Autonomous Freight Technology for Inbound Logistics

Autonomous vehicles could reshape freight transportation and solve safety and freight mobility issues.

But a patchwork of state laws creates a hindrance to implementing emerging technology. Currently in the U.S., there are no federal guidelines for how autonomous trucking vehicles should operate. In the absence of uniform standards, the trucking industry should unite to encourage states to act jointly to create consistent regulations for the implementation of new technology, writes Freight Planning Practice Leader Keith J. Bucklew. 

Bucklew tackled this problem for the July 2022 issue of Inbound Logistics magazine in “Steering the Future of Autonomous Vehicles." He advises the trucking industry to push for uniform regulations for emerging technology in freight.

“With the absence of consistency, the freight technology playing field can be an operational quagmire,” he said. “The trucking industry should speak as one voice to advocate for both federal and state uniform regulations.”

Bucklew provides direction and guidance for freight planning projects and has more than three decades of varied experience in both the public and the private sectors.