Huge deal made for driverless trucks by 2024

Yeah but the jump would look cool until you hit the (probably piss-covered) ground.

 

The last I heard there's not going to be any more police.

Hijack away.

 

Yeah. Police have converted to riot dance and kneel teams.

 

We'll see what happens.

When anti-lock brakes first came out way back in the 70s people were getting killed.

I remember when General Motors decided to do away with regular power steering pumps and use electronic signals to control the steering. People were ending up in ditches all over the place and losing control of their cars having accidents.

Anybody remember when the Toyotas we're suddenly and unexpectedly accelerating and killing people? I don't think that was any kind of new technology they were using.

And of course if you look at all of the tests on the autonomous cars they can't distinguish between an animal or a person or a shadow and they are limited in what they can do and they also have killed many people thus far.

It doesn't sound like in the near future of just a few years that driverless 80,000 lb vehicles will be one hundred percent ready.

 

I'll pass on that particular cool, broken bones suck.

 

The guys who should be worried are the $140k/yr UPS line haul drivers and similar. Big companies like that have the most financial incentive to get rid of drivers and more importantly have the deep pockets to invest in the startup costs. Those jobs will be automated out of existence in certain areas but any job that requires extensive driver involvement such as transporting fuel or vehicles or LTL dock bumping ain’t going anywhere. Logistically there is no way to automate the manual labor involved.

 

When it’s all perfected, we’ll be hit by an EMP and it will be moot. I’m glad I have primary skills that don’t include spreadsheets or stock brokering. When you’re trying to get into a safe, fortified city, you’ll be asked what skills you have. Farmers, doctors, and carpenters will be let in. Marketing analysts, accountants, computer programmers, and truck drivers will be sent down the long trail of displaced, desperate, useless workers.

Read “One Second After.” It will scare you into learning a useable survival skill.

 

Over the decades as truckers in general got raises, they increased the length of the trailer they pulled so as to effect more work for the more pay so the Man was paying virtually the same as they were before if not less. When they just about got to the max length the law would allow they lobbied to increase max weight from 73280 to 80000 pounds. I'm not great at math by any means, but you go from a 40 foot trailer at 73280 to a 53 foot trailer at 80000, for every few loads, you have eliminated one driver, taking their pay and spreading it out as a 'raise' to the remaining drivers.

Well we are due for another big raise and the final push for extra length and weight has been hard lobbied in congress for over 5 years for 57 foot trailers with three axles and 97000 pounds.

Congress isn't buying it so the next logical step is for the Man to just simply eliminate all the drivers they can and keep that pay for himself.

Meanwhile drivers are out here fighting and arguing with each other while the Man stuffs his pockets with your money.

 

There were a lot of safety requirements that were mandated for the final weights and lengths they approved in the 80’s. Standard not optional power steering and steer axle brakes were two of them.
The main thing that is keeping the government from allowing longer length and higher weights now is accident rate. They want a almost zero % rate. Some of the legislators in the past have settled on a 10% rate. That is one reason among others why these megas implemented all this rediculous zero tolarance safety stuff to try to show the government they are at least trying to meet that unreachable goal. When humans are involved they can’t get accidents, injuries, or death manageable. They believe they will with robot control. With driverless if they get the rate down they will be able to redesign equipment to be longer and heavier and be able to take up relatively the same space.

 

Notice some key words and phrases they mentioned in the video above.

"....texting, fatigued drivers...." "....rain or shine....", no mention of snow and ice....

Being able to get shipments from one coast to another in 36 hours.... Alleging they can lower the price of shipping, therefore the price of goods will go down.... It certainly will have to since the entire supply chain of paid people will be out of work and will have to get their food and goods handed to them.

They won't be using cell towers to control these trucks. They will be using Starlink satellites. Welcome to Skynet....