The key facts
- Andrei Nikitin announced that driverless trucks with no one in the cab will enter public roads by 2028
- Autonomous trucks from KamAZ, Yandex and Navio already run on the M-11, M-4, M-12 and the Central Ring Road in an experimental mode
- The Ministry of Transport has prepared a bill on highly automated vehicles
Timeline announced in the State Duma
Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin, speaking in the State Duma, said that by 2028, freight vehicles without a driver in the cab are planned to be put on public roads. “By 2028, we plan to put freight vehicles without a driver in the cab on public roads,” Life.ru quotes him as saying.
What is happening now
Driverless trucks are already in use in Russia, but as part of an experimental regime. Autonomous vehicles of KamAZ, Yandex and Navio run on the federal highways M-11 Neva, M-4 Don, M-12 Vostok and the Central Ring Road. The key difference of the next stage is abandoning the mandatory presence of a human in the cab: currently a driver or engineer provides additional monitoring of the movement, while in the future the vehicles are expected to make trips along approved routes on their own.
Legislative framework
Full deployment of the technology requires updating the legislation. The Ministry of Transport has prepared a bill on highly automated vehicles, which is to establish uniform rules for their operation on regular roads. The document regulates the obligations of participants in transportation, safety issues and the use of autonomous control systems.
Expert's view on the driver profession
Logistics expert Mikhail Belousov previously explained to Life.ru that even after fully autonomous trucks appear, the driver profession will not disappear overnight. In his view, people will still have to oversee loading, paperwork and handling of non-standard situations, and some specialists will be able to switch to remote control of vehicles.
