Driverless Trucks May Soon Expand to More Regions in Russia
Russia is extending its autonomous trucking experiment, paving the way for wider deployment of high‑automation freight vehicles and preparing the regulatory groundwork for fully unmanned logistics.
Russia has extended through 2028 the experimental legal framework that allows driverless cargo trucks to operate on public roads. The decision was approved by the Russian government as part of the country’s long‑term autonomous mobility program.
Launched in 2023 to test core technologies, the pilot initiative now expands to three additional regions: Bashkortostan, Perm Territory, and Sverdlovsk Region.
The most significant update concerns the approval for highly automated vehicles (HAVs) to operate without a human inside the truck cabin. These fully unmanned vehicles are expected to appear on roads in 2026, with a target of logging 100,000 kilometers of autonomous mileage over two years.
Technological Maturity of High‑Automation Transport
Previously, first‑category HAVs were permitted to operate only with a test engineer in the driver’s seat to take over in case of system failure. Now, drivers of trucks operating on the M‑11 highway and the Central Ring Road (CKAD) may sit in the passenger seat instead.
More advanced second‑category HAVs are allowed to rely entirely on automation, even during remote routing. However, additional requirements apply, including the ability to safely stop in the event of software malfunctions.
According to Vladimir Voloshin, Director of the Department of Digital Development and Data Economy at the Ministry of Economic Development, the elimination of the in‑cab test engineer became possible thanks to the technological maturity already achieved by Russian HAV systems.
