How Electric and Autonomous Trucks Are Changing the Risk Profile of Commercial Freight

Here’s what’s covered:

1. Why Electric & Autonomous Trucks Change The Risk Profile
2. Electric Trucks Create Unique Crash Hazards
3. Autonomous Trucks Distribute Liability
4. When Evidence Gets Technical & Time-Sensitive…
5. …It Affects Your Claim.

Electric & Autonomous Trucks Change The Risk Profile Of Truck Accidents

Trucking accidents can be dangerous. Any commercial vehicle accident has inherent risks for everyone involved including drivers, passengers, and bystanders.

Electric trucks and self-driving rigs raise the stakes even higher.

Traditional trucks carry risks that are well understood — crush injuries from overlapping metal, burns from gasoline fires, traumatic impacts.

But electric vehicles and driverless technology introduce brand-new dangers we should all know about:

• Lithium-ion battery fires that reignite hours after first being extinguished
• Hazardous gas exposure from thermal battery crashes
• Multiple defendants spread across various industries

That’s how autonomous and electric trucks change the risk profile of truck accidents. And they impact how injury claims are investigated, which parties are held liable, and whether evidence even survives the crash.

Electric Trucks Bring New Dangers

Before jumping into autonomous trucks, it’s worth talking about electric big rigs.

Electric trucks are coming. Everyone in the industry knows it.

Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Tesla offer electric heavy-duty trucks right now. Every other manufacturer has electric truck models coming in the next few years. In fact, investments in electric truck production hit $19 billion globally in 2023 — that’s more than double what it was just two years ago.

When gasoline and diesel fuel exit the picture, though, they bring hazards we know to something new.

The Crashworthiness Of An Electric Truck Is Different

The industry has never had to deal with large-scale lithium-ion battery fires before.

The National Transportation Safety Board launched a formal investigation into a Tesla Semi truck crash — the first fiery electric truck crash investigated by the NTSB. First responders had to use around 50,000 gallons of water to put the truck fire out and I-80 remained shut down for more than 12 hours.

Traditional truck crashes do not typically require that response.

Toxic Gas Exposure Creates New Hazards

Here’s another issue nobody’s talking about yet…

When these batteries experience something called thermal runaway, they release toxic gases that can injure first responders and anyone nearby.

Cargo loading companies beware… If a truck is not loaded correctly, liability for causing the crash can follow.

Who’s Responsible For Autonomous Trucks?

There’s no debate over whether autonomous trucks will play a major role in freight across the country. It’s already happening. The biggest trucking companies all have active autonomous technology pilot programs. And regular folks are starting to see them out there, too.

That’s exactly why it’s the perfect time to talk about who’s responsible when there’s no driver.

Autonomous trucks were originally tested in limited capacities. That meant regulators could focus on specific dangers, like faulty object detection systems or inadequate human monitoring.

Once these trucks start hauling freight regularly without drivers, those categories of liability explode.

In The Event Of A Crash With An Autonomous Truck, Who’s Liable?

Who’s legally responsible if an autonomous truck causes a crash? The traditional defendants:

• Truck driver
• Trucking company

Don’t stop there.

There’s more:

• The software developer
• The hardware manufacturer
• The person who loaded the truck (if that caused the crash)

Insurance Rates Are Going Up For Self-Driving Trucks

This should tell you something about how regulators view autonomous trucking safety.

Kentucky recently became the first state to require autonomous trucking companies to carry a minimum of $5 million in liability insurance per incident. That’s five times the minimum insurance requirement for traditional semi trucks.

Evidence Is Everything…And Usually Technical

Insurance rates are increasing because deadly truck crashes are decreasing.

Thanks to improvements in safety technology, there was a drop in fatal large truck crashes from 5,800 in 2022 to 4,260 in 2024.

But just because trucks are getting safer doesn’t mean all accidents are avoidable. And when crashes involve complicated new technology, determining liability isn’t always easy.

Autonomous trucks have multiple “black box” systems that need to be preserved after a crash.

These vehicles also bring tons of unknowns. Was it human error? Poorly maintained sensors? A cracked road flare thrown into the road?

Insurance companies and at-fault parties will fight hard against a claim. That’s why having an attorney on your side before contacting your insurance company matters.

Contact A Dallas Truck Accident Attorney Today

Technology is changing trucking. And while that’s largely a good thing, conventional personal injury laws can’t always account for semi trucks running entirely new risks on roadways.

Anyone injured in a crash with an autonomous or electric truck should learn more about how a truck accident claim might differ from others by contacting a qualified truck accident lawyer today.

The Breakdown

Autonomous trucks don’t have drivers.

Electric trucks burn lithium-ion batteries, not diesel.

As these trucks become more commonplace, they’re changing the risk profile typically associated with large trucks.

Here’s the takeaway:

• Electric trucks require new safety protocols at the scene
• Autonomous trucks spread liability across new defendants
• Internal truck data is vital evidence that’s easily destroyed
• Injury claims can be highly technical, requiring expert consultation
• Attorney help is more important than ever

Not all trucks are created equal.

And as more autonomous and electric trucks hit the road, knowing how they change the risk profile for commercial accidents is the first step to protecting rights as an injury victim.