Those worried about self-driving trucks taking your jobs, don't!

I worked Walmart supply chain less than two years ago and worked in semiconductors and computing before that. I am well aware of where they are at. Making some prototypes and full commercial implementation are two different things. The main problem is down time. It is super expensive. Second problem is technicians. You have to make the equipment so a low paid technician can fix it. This takes a bit of time. Third problem is cost. It is often cheaper to use a skilled driver depending on the implementation of the technology. Crown is close to getting past some of these hurdles but they aren’t there. And that’s just in the warehouse. You’re talking 30 years minimum for trucks

 

You still need a driver for that technology. I literally used it. The forklifts work for dry goods but not food.

edit: you’ll pay in cleaning labor more than what a forklift driver costs. Liquid spills and stray cases disable autonomous equipment and nobody cares.

 

I spend a lot of time on the road, and was just thinking, I've never seen even 1, so where are they hiding them all.
If I do see 1 some year, it would be fun to swerve at it, and see what it does...especially in winter with 10 inches of snow over a layer of ice, on a 15% downhill. Will it just drive itself into the ditch, or...

 

All truck drivers need to get together and start running them off the road. Get them to crash! I mean every major trucking company is building them. Daimler, Volvo, Navistar plus all the start ups.

If I see one in my car I’ll run it off the road.

 

I've been off the road the past few months but about to venture back out soon. Before that I was out for five plus years and never saw one. Seems to be a bunch of investment hooplah. Yea can't wait to see them in Wyoming in January. I think they will be in very limited use in ideal conditions and the ones that are being utilized will have a driver on board for many years to come.

 

Don't get mad, I said that more as a joke than anything.

Hell I'll be dead and buried for 700 years before a self driving trucks on our roads.

 

Tusimple, Aurora, and Embark are pretty much all trading at 6 dollars a share now… hemorrhaging investor cash left and right. Tusimple has pushed commercialization to 2024 with Embark claiming the same. Both companies are facing securities fraud lawsuits. With the country now in recession and seeing serious inflation these companies might not make it to 2024!

 

All of the reasons that fully autonomous trucks will not ever be practical are brought up constantly among drivers, except the one that I see very little discussion about.
ACCOUNTABILITY. In this whole world, it's our nature as humans to look for blame and seek justice whenever tragedy strikes. If there is any possibility that people have been harmed or killed in some way, humans seek blame. They want justice. Even if an uncontrollable natural disaster causes injuries or death, people look for human fault in an attempt to get some form of justice served.
With fully automated vehicles, including trucks, who will be the one to blame when tragedy strikes??? Certainly not the trucking companies. Certainly not the developers of the truck. Certainly not the motoring public. Who, then?
The answer is, the operator of the autonomous truck will be to blame. This is why there will always be a need for an individual to be in the truck. To take the blame. So justice can be served in an accident. Trucking will change with technology, and AI, but a human will ALWAYS be involved in the operation. This way our society can seek justice and pin blame on an individual when something terrible happens.