Self-driving trucking company Kodiak Robotics has stated it is to become the first company to pilot the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Enhanced Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Inspection Standard (Enhanced Inspections) program, enabling autonomous trucks to pre-clear roadside inspections.
The program was developed to make interactions between autonomous trucks and law enforcement more efficient at fixed inspection sites. Several elements of the project were approved by the CVSA at a board meeting in September 2022.
The enhanced inspections will be carried out by a CVSA-certified inspector. Following the inspection – which is valid for a 24-hour period – the results and any other relevant safety information will be sent by the autonomous truck to roadside enforcement officers. As law enforcement will then know the roadworthiness of the vehicles participating in the pilot, these autonomous trucks will not be inspected at weigh stations and other sites.
In collaboration with Drivewyze – a platform for connected truck services – and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Kodiak has launched the enhanced inspections pilot program on public roadways in Texas. The results of each inspection are entered into the Drivewyze system, before the platform communicates a sample Safety Data Message Set to roadside enforcement officials located at participating inspection sites.
“Traditional roadside inspections rely on assistance from the driver, and a common question we get is how autonomous trucks will handle highway weigh station inspections,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. “This program shows how law enforcement and autonomous vehicle developers can partner to ensure extremely high safety and maintenance standards for self-driving trucks. We are thankful to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and Drivewyze for demonstrating that the recently developed commercial vehicle inspections solution for autonomous trucks can be implemented using existing frameworks and infrastructure.”
“Autonomous vehicles represent a significant change to roadside enforcement, and we are proud to support Texas DPS and Kodiak in rising to the challenge,” added Brian Heath, CEO, Drivewyze. “To maximize future adoption, it is important that state agencies continue to leverage their existing roadside systems to meet the needs of the emerging AV market.”