Driverless semi-trucks are coming, and Long Beach is already part of it

California just made a move that could change how freight moves across the state, and it’s something that hits close to home for Long Beach.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles recently approved new rules that allow companies to start testing driverless semi-trucks, something that wasn’t allowed before for heavy-duty vehicles.

That doesn’t mean you’re going to see fully driverless big rigs cruising down the 710 tomorrow. What it does mean is companies can now apply for permits and begin a step-by-step process that eventually leads to trucks operating without a human inside.

Testing starts with a safety driver, then moves to fully driverless testing, and only after that would companies be allowed to run actual commercial operations. It’s controlled, slow, and heavily regulated.

But here’s why this matters locally.

The Port of Long Beach is already one of the most automated ports in the country. Inside terminals, driverless vehicles are already moving containers around, and cranes are operated remotely or automatically. It’s been happening for years, just behind the scenes.

So while driverless semi-trucks might sound futuristic, the reality is Long Beach has already been living a version of this.

The difference now is what happens outside the port.

If this testing progresses, the next step is obvious, trucks moving goods from the ports to warehouses in places like the Inland Empire, potentially without drivers.

That’s where things get complicated.

Supporters of autonomous trucking point to safety. Long-haul trucking is demanding, drivers deal with long hours, fatigue, and real risk on the road. In theory, automation could reduce accidents caused by human error.

But there’s another side to it.

Truck driving is one of the most common jobs in the country, and in California, it’s a major part of how goods move through ports like Long Beach and Los Angeles. Replacing even a portion of those jobs with automation isn’t a small shift, it’s a big one.

And realistically, the companies that benefit the most are the ones that can afford to build and deploy this technology at scale.

This isn’t something that’s happening overnight, but it’s also not hypothetical anymore.

States like Texas and Arizona are already ahead of California, with companies testing and in some cases running early versions of autonomous trucking routes. California has been slower to allow it, until now.

What just happened is the starting point.

Driverless trucks aren’t everywhere yet, but the system that allows them to exist is now being put in place. And in a city like Long Beach, where automation is already part of the port, it’s a sign of where things are heading next.

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