Savings, safety fuel push for driverless trucks

After decades checking their rearview mirrors for the threat from rail and air transport, truckers around the world are facing their latest rival head-on: driverless trucks.

As companies from Toyota Motor Corp to Google parent Alphabet Inc race to develop driverless technology, trucking companies are seeing the potential to cut costs by nearly half and improve safety.

Already in Australia, the world's most truck-dependent nation, mining giants such as Rio Tinto are using remote controlled lorries to shift iron ore around massive mining pits.