Chat with an NYT reporter about the prospect of autonomous trucks?

If it actually works, 3.5 million people will be looking for a new career. You think that will change the trucking business?

 

Just another way of the rich getting richer and the poor poorer

 

Actually you will always need a driver, what do you do when the technology fails? Every self driving car has had a fatality so far, so a human is needed, if one were not needed, we would not have airline pilots. Today's aircraft have automatic landing and takoff systems, autopilot, backup systems that take over when the primary fails, yet we still have pilots for those times technology can't adjust for the varying weather and airport ground conditions.
Linking trucks electronically sounds good, but what happens when the link fails? It happens today, you are driving down the road and the check engine light comes on and your car stops running, imagine that with 80,000 pounds rolling next to you.

 

Like hell the truck is driving while I sleep!

Not to mention, the truck can't fuel itself, much less get off the highway to a fuel stop, shipper, receiver, etc etc.

There will be a human in the driver's seat for quite some time to come regardless of autonomy. There are still way too many responsibilities a driver doesn't get paid for that s/he will still have to do while still not getting paid for.

As for TTR; the posts will change from (whimsical voice) "It's always been my dream to drive a big rig!" to "It's always been my dream to snapchat from a big rig while the rig drives itself! Ever since I was a little boy!".

 

This is why it wont happen, (my opinion) untill ALL vehicles are self driving and talking to each other

 

...so you take a "driverless" truck, and have to have a "driver" standing by in case the computer gets in over its head. Problem with that, is, that this driver, after having been riding along as a passenger, has not developed the feel for the truck or the load which might be required to be able to perform the maneuvers necessary to handle the situation that was beyond the capabilities of the computer. He just doesn't have "experience" and what skills he may have once had are "rusty". Not only that, but this driver may not have been paying much attention, so he's got to play catch-up taking in the scene to determine what needs to be done...and by then it's too late.

Besides that, if the computer wrecks, it'll still be the driver's fault.

 

If I get paid the same, sure. But honestly the government will never let a computer drive while the driver is asleep.

 

I wouldn't!