How long before truck drivers are not needed?

Discussion in 'Truckers Strike Forum' started by sfd714, Aug 11, 2013.

  1. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    I know there has always been a dread for the future with the passing of each generation.

    It might be the same as in the past and they grow out of it.
     
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  3. truckerdave1970

    truckerdave1970 On Probation

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    let's hope so!

    I should post pics of some examples but ALOT of them would probably violate the PG13 rule!!!
    :biggrin_25511:
     
  4. brsims

    brsims Road Train Member

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    Driverless trucks will last just as long as it takes some punk 15-year old hacker to crack into the communication system and send every truck careening down the road at 85mph......

    Live people behind the wheel cannot be hacked, people. The trucking industry is safe from robot trucks for quite some time. The train industry, on the other hand, should take notice. Trains are already limited by only being able to run on tracks, and setting the programs for them would actually be pretty easy from a programming perspective.

    Trucks have far too many variables, and are open to far too many idiots with access to programming software (like Notepad and Notepad++) to ever be considered as safe on public highways without a live driver.
     
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  5. Mike2633

    Mike2633 Road Train Member

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    They talked about computer controlled trains on yardlimits which is the railroad workers forum and it is very possible in the railroad industry for computer controlled trains. Right now the technology is still a little to expensive and the railroads are not ready to invest in it just yet, but they have been testing it and certainly the position of freight train conductor could be a thing of the past, however they still have a ways to go.
     
  6. 379exhd

    379exhd Road Train Member

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    Don't tell me that technology is a little too expensive. They're paying engineers and conductors wages 3x that of the truck driver. Granted there aren't as many trains running around as there are trucks on the road but if they didn't have to pay engineers and conductors wages it would pay for itself in less than a year. Hell that'd probably make the railroads safer taking the human out of the equation to be honest. Them railroader's arent too bright...I believe a burnt out light bulb is brighter than my brother in law at times. I can't say much though for him being as dull as he is he makes better money than I do.
     
  7. quitter

    quitter Light Load Member

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    I am pretty sure with the value of cargo on a train approaching $100 million dollars, and truck cargo $1 million dollars you will always have some one to ride along with the cargo, and in the case of trucks they might as well be driving it so I really don't expect to ever see trucks and trains go around the country with not a sole on board. Truck drivers and Train Engineers are really not paid all that much money compared to the value of the cargo they haul, it would be penny wise and pound foolish to totally remove labor cost from transportation. You probably can expect to see the size of trucks increase though, maybe make them taller, lower to the ground, a little longer and remove the sleeping area so the trailer can be made even longer --- who know maybe even go back to a cabover design with cargo on top of driver, and the driver stuck in a little box like a yard mule.
     
  8. Infosaur

    Infosaur Road Train Member

    Y'know quitter, I hadn't given it much thought but how come there hasn't been a return to train-robbing?

    Hobos can still jump freight. So why not somebody on a mission? Find the car with the iPhones (or other valuable inventory) cut it off from the engine, have a bunch of guys waiting at the break down point.

    You could probably have half the boxcar unloaded before the engineer/conductor notices car #40 of 78 is missing.

    At the very least, it'd make for some good Hollywood action.
     
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  9. CaptainX3

    CaptainX3 Road Train Member

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    Never gonna happen.

    The first time that computer runs over a minivan full of kids in order to avoid an obstacle in the road, that'll be the end of that.

    Or maybe the first time it's operating system (Which I'm sure will be some form of Windows) decides to go blue screen and the truck runs out of control.

    Or when a hacker gets in and takes control of a truck or multiple trucks.

    Or how about the computer driving the truck based on a trucking GPS system? That'll last for all of five seconds... We see what happens when idiot drivers depend on only the GPS.

    I could go on and on...

    In the future, I could see machines or systems that practically drive the truck themselves, but there will still have to be a live person there to make decisions. A computer runs on algorithms and logic. It has no compassion, no judgement, no intuition. And a computer program must be written by a person, and no person could write a program that could deal with EVERY POSSIBLE SITUATION that could be encountered on the road.

    A situation as complex as driving just can't be automated, period, not at 100%. They can try, they can whine, and they can posture, but it ain't gonna happen. The only way that this could happen is if we came up with a true AI system, and if we do that, we'll all end up in The Matrix anyways and those of us that a drivers will still be drivers in a virtual world.

    So I really wouldn't worry too much.
     
  10. quitter

    quitter Light Load Member

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    I did a search on the internet for modern train robberies, it seems they happen almost everyday, but the train companies don't like to talk about them --- probably because it will give other people ideas. It is kind of fascinating the way the bad guys do it. Sometime they will scout the rails, and the know where the trains stop in remote areas, they unload high valued freight and a off road vehicles pick it up, is one of the ways it is done.
     
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  11. Ghost_Ryder

    Ghost_Ryder Bobtail Member

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    huge difference, the U.S. drones are STILL controlled by groups of people, there is still a pilot, he just isnt in the plane, and the price of that drone alone is rediculous, the stated article is about replacing drivers, not having someone ghost drive the truck, it is not practical, have you ever even driven an automatic rig....its a hilarious thought, nobody is saying its not possible, just that its so impractical it just as well should be considered impossible
     
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