Self Driving Trucks are Coming

How about the first time a deer jumps out in front of them? What about a dozen at once? There's so many parts of this that clearly haven't been thought of much less figured out what to do about it.

 

How about when the (still human driven) 4 wheelers go full MUST PASS TRUCK mode on it and become wildly unpredictable in every last one of those previously stated situations? Those are the instances that make 4 wheelers want us truckers outta the cab, so where's the guarantee that it'll handle them better than we do?

 

There are just way too many variables that a computer can't possibly be programed for. One that comes to mind is in a collision avoidence scenario where a driver needs to make the split second decision between hitting a school bus full of kids or another vehicle. The computer can't tell there are 30+ children in the bus. A human driver can. The computer is going to steer the truck to hit whatever one the algorithms determine is most logical.

 

Whaddya think the headlines are gonna be when one of these self driving trucks goes and takes out a busload of nuns?

 

Oh, the big bad autonomous trucks are coming to take our jobs! It's hilarious how people keep posting about this. Yes, they will be here someday, but not in the next 5-7 years. Incidentally, that's how long I need before I retire my truck and myself.
The fact is that we as humans apparently cannot drive undistracted. With this need that people have to be constantly connected with everyone else via social media, It's really a sad state of affairs concerning our society. I fully believe that one day in the not too distant future,(20-25 years), humans will not be allowed to operate vehicles except on race tracks, if there even.
I was driving in south Florida today and was almost hit by distracted drivers maybe five times. These clowns all had there smart phones in their hand except one who was reaching for his breath mints.

 

When and if self driving trucks come about, they will be on their own roads with nothing but them and will just travel to specific locations (warehouses) to be reloaded on trucks to be delivered.
I am doubting my great grand kids will see much of them, mainly just a test road or two.

 

Kid on a bike?

 

Nun Soup.

 

It seems, in my observation, that there has been a slow down in autonomous vehicle development after a couple of test vehicles (car and cab type, not commercial hauler types) had at fault accidents and injured some folks. I think there was one incident in California and one in Phoenix. Don't remember for sure, it was about a year or so ago. Seems like since then, the autonomous car chatter had died down significantly. I kinda figured when they ran into the legal issues of what to do when an autonomous vehicle hurts someone and the public relations problems too that they'd finally realize that autonomous vehicles are not the next big thing, but something that has many issues beyond the technical that need to be sorted out and decided BEFORE the technology is utilized. Usually they stick the technology out there and worry about the other issues afterward.


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