Self Driving Trucks are Coming

As I’ve mentioned before, these lead trucks with driverless trucks following it (platooning tech) won’t be in streets at all, at least initially. It would be best to have them on freeways only and the terminals right next to the freeway. These driverless trucks would also be capable of almost driving themselves, and the only reason for the lead truck is just in case anything happens such as a tire blowout, a mechanical/technical problem, or any other special situation.

 

Strange thought... What if the “self driving/automated trucks” are made by Skynet and become fully aware? Like the cyborgs from The Terminator. It could be like Maxium Overdrive but worse...

 

I don't believe that for a minute, You may have paid cash but you left a deposit of some kind.

 

No fuel in an electric truck and with regen system you could use 1 or more to pull the train and regen the others. Limitless range then.
If there is an accident only 1 truck is involved if they are all tied together by computer.

 

Then transfer it all onto trucks with human drivers to continue along the way. What a waste of time and money.
Should only needs 16000 acres of land, and 90000 employees.
Instead just employ truck drivers, and cut the number of trucks in half. No need for autonomous trucks and trucks with drivers.
Besides even highways have things like traffic lights on them in places.
Or do you plan to switch it every 50 miles or less.

 

I happen to believe that is the most efficient way to do it even now. Deregulation changed all that IMO.
There is no need for traffic lights on a highway. Just bucks to change that.

 

Which is why once the big three get involved seriously they will have congress make laws to get driverless cars exempt from most liability laws.
It's all a mute argument anyway as it's nothing more than a toy used in very controlled situations, and will be for my lifetime.
To be useful it will need infrastructure change, and we all know how well out roads are maintained, much less changed...

 

Oh I left a deposit I guarantee that. The cleaning lady will find it most unhandy.

 

That is only the beginning of what driverless can do. Driverless trucks will generate money not just by drastically reducing the need for drivers (30k-100k per driver annually), but also by reducing their insurance costs as the trucks are expected to be much safer on the road (no distractions or fatigue). Plus, these trucks will be very efficient in advancing the load (reduction in repowers or rescheduled appointments). Drivers will be reduced to regional/city drivers (initially).

That is the reason I mentioned freeways or interstate highways. All interstate highways are freeways. Sure, some interstates come to an end and become some other type of highway like a state/US highway. I am specifically referring to freeways, that is, roads that have no traffic lights, stop signs, etc. I know what you’re thinking. What about stopped traffic on freeways due to construction zones or accidents? Then they just deal with it. They’re only driving forward and no turns, unlike streets where traffic can be coming from all directions.

 

What about the cost of real estate? Prime real estate right off a major interstate? What about the citizens that will protest zoning regulations to stop a terminal from being built?

That’s how I’ll stop the robots. I’ll get the NIMBY crowd on my side and we’ll stop them.

The technology will be developed long before we have the infrastructure to support this. We’re talking about dedicated entry/exit points near every major city plus anywhere else a company sees fit to break down these platooning convoys. The price of real estate alone will stop any sort of development for terminals in the Northwest.

My opinion is that a more likely scenario (in our lifetime) will be the advancement of platooning technology, and it will be standardized so that every truck can “talk” to each other no matter what make. We will have the ability to link up with a handful of trucks going the same distance for as long as we want to platoon. The computer will automatically tell the order the trucks need to go in based on weight and horsepower. The driver will be able to leave the platoon whenever they choose to and the rest can link back up.