Aurora Innovation is temporarily changing its driverless trucking program in Texas after its truck manufacturer partner, PACCAR, asked the company to return a human to the front seat.
Earlier this month, Aurora made headlines when it began running fully driverless trucks between Dallas and Houston, becoming the first company in the U.S. to launch a commercial route without a driver in the cab. Now, the company says a person will sit in the driver’s seat, not to drive, but to observe, after PACCAR raised concerns about prototype vehicle parts.
“After much consideration, we respected their request and are moving the observer, who had been riding in the back of some of our trips, from the back seat to the front seat,” said Aurora CEO Chris Urmson. “This observer will not operate the vehicle — the Aurora Driver will continue to be fully responsible for all driving tasks, including pulling over to a safe location if required.”
Aurora says the trucks will continue to run in driverless mode, and the change won’t affect the company’s long-term plans. “We’re confident in the technology, grateful for our partners, and excited about the driverless road we’re on,” Urmson wrote.
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Aurora trucks have now driven over 6,000 miles without a driver behind the wheel. In an earlier interview with D Magazine, Aurora President Ossa Fisher said the company is growing carefully and intentionally. “We’re taking a crawl-walk-run approach very deliberately,” Fisher said. “We know this is new for society. We know that scrutiny is going to be very high. 2025 is about proving without any shadow of a doubt that the technology works and it’s ready for scale.”
Fisher, who runs the company’s operations from North Texas, got her commercial driver’s license as one of her first moves after taking the job. Aurora also counts FedEx, Uber Freight, Toyota, and Ryder among its partners.
Despite the slight course correction, Aurora says its long-term goal of delivering tens of thousands of driverless trucks over the next few years remains unchanged.
