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LAS VEGAS — The self-driving car is getting closer to deployment in the real world for everyday passengers.

Traffic jams and speed limits may prevent truckers from driving any faster, but America’s largest independent truckload carrier has found a way to speed its internet connections with drivers across the country to help address its truck driver shortage.

The futuristic appeal of the autonomous vehicles that began operating Dec. 21 on the Jacksonville Transportation Authority test track is the prospect that eventually hundreds of them could be shuttling passengers around downtown.

Another fleet of mining trucks will join the growing ranks of machines operating autonomously using Caterpillar Inc. systems in Australia next year, reflecting the company’s push to cement industry partnerships with proprietary technology.

The launch of self-driving vehicle testing at the American Center for Mobility west of Detroit came with something that frequently confounds human drivers in Michigan — snow.

Mack is back, upshifting into hiring mode for its massive Lower Macungie Township, Pa., assembly plant that already employs about 2,000 people.

With a cheery chime, a small, squarish minibus eased forward and tentatively took to the “highway” Dec. 12, advancing to a top speed of 3 miles per hour in the frigid morning air punctuated by a dash of swirling snow.

Foxconn Technology Group’s plans for the use of driverless vehicles to move thousands of workers a day at its sprawling campus in Racine County, Wisc., highlights the growing attractiveness of a technology that could shape the future of transportation.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. will pay tens of millions of dollars for intentionally cheating its customers with unnecessary repairs and dumping rail car parts into the ocean to cover up its actions.