End of the road for truckers?

What is this brotherhood you speak of and why would i want to be a member of it?

Sorry i don't buy into socialism. I got into trucking to make money. That makes every single other truck driver a competitor.

 

Excuse me, this was my first time EVER looking for a "hypocrite" meme.

I can not make up my mind of which i like, so heres four that gave me a chuckle. The last one is my favorite i think.



Does that answer your questions @Dave_in_AZ

 

After seeing in person what a Tesla can do with no one even in the car. My attitude on automated/self driving trucks has changed.

Its my opinion that we are still 10 yrs off before the technology is perfected enough to actually do what it needs to do. Then another 10 - 15 yrs of trials and additional modifications before it actually gets the green light for use on public highways.

I used to think that it would never happen in my life time. Sadly,.. I was very wrong about that.

My carrier owner has a Tesla that can drop you off at the front door of a restaurant and then go valet park itself with absolutely no assistance from anyone. I watched this car circle the parking lot,.. find an open spot and then park itself. Then after dinner. He call the car back to pick us up. Again,.. completely unassisted.

I stood there with my jaw open absolutely mesmerized. Surely there must be some kind of trickery involved. Nope,.. no tricks. The car will also follow other cars on the interstate in what I can best describe as a hands free auto-pilot mode. The car was driving itself. He was texting another driver and talking to me the whole time the car was doing its thing. He still needed to be alert to take control if anything happened. But the car would speed up and slow down and stay in the lane behind what ever vehicle was in front of it.

So yeah,.. I'm thinking 25 yrs from now,.. there will be a completely different breed of steering wheel holder in trucks. I have plans to retire in 10,.. so you young bucks are on your own. Get into specialized hauling now while you still can. The A - B routes are going to be automated.

Hurst

 

I have been wrestling with the concept of Ottos rolling on our interstates. It would not be a valid term to call a driver who is babysitting a Otto a steering wheel holder.

I already encounter virtual worlds with... a ocean for example and a warship on that ocean hunting ME. MOI. Surely computers are stupid and easily defeated/sunk etc. But no. The hull that is burning fiercely Is telling me that the computer robot is winning against my bigger warship.

I don't even want to visit the lines of code and software it mustive relied on to successfully run a big truck down the highway mimicking a human.

We already fly in airplanes that have two humans, sometimes three up front minding everything to ensure that all is on track to the schedule to a T. I watched a video of a A380's Pilot in Command complete a approach into San Fran that took a while. And most of it was computer interfaces to relieve the PIC a certain amount of workload.

I am convinced that if these humans were raptured that A380 will land itself and then taxi to the appropriate gate.

I don't know why I cannot allow myself to accept a robot OTTO on MY highway next to my crappy Tahoe fixing to do only god knows what. Maybe it's because it's my retired ### vs adequate insurance should one of us screw it up.

 

Its equally as disturbing to me to think about 80k lb automated hulks rolling next to me on the same high way.

What happens when 2 automated trucks next to each other are set to cruise at the same speed? Will one slow down or speed up to pass the other? A lot to think about.

How will it handle bumper to bumper traffic or construction zones? 4 wheelers cutting it off or dodging in front of it while everyone vies for lane positions?

I guess try to remember back in the day before cell phones, GPS and dash cams,.. before the internet!!. Never in a million years could I have envisioned how these things would take over our lives. I know I depend greatly on my cell phone. So I believe eventually we will just take automated trucks for granted and they will be common place with out anyone giving them a second thought. I still cringe at the idea,. but like it or not,.. its coming.

Hurst

 

im waiting for the Japanese robot to jump out of the flatbed swift daycab
to adjust chains or straps

 

Im waiting for a pickup truck filled with sex robots for hire by the hour under the bed's cover moving from truck to truck down the long rows in Memphis, putting actual human hookers out of business.

Never in a million years would I consider such a ... unnatrual situation, but I understand China very recently has a business sprout like a weed already in commerce using a number of those robots for hire. Apparently there is a demand.

I tell you what.. I'll buy stock in a company that manufacturers disinfectant. And another in batteries and robotics parts...

 

Ahh the old theory don't dig gold .
Sell picks and shovels to them that dig.

 

And that's very impressive.

But again you're talking about a high end luxury car sold (leased?) to the public with more than generous government subsidies by a company that has YET to make a profit.

If it were that simple we'd all be driving long nose Petes with condo cabs and on board bathrooms.

But no, a majority of drivers are in fleet spec basic rigs bought in bulk by a purchasing exec who never has to drive one but may or may not have slept with a leggy sales rep at the annual convention.

We don't get Tesla S's, we get Dodge Darts. (And we look down on the poor souls who end up in Mitsubishi Mirages. Did you know they still make that POS? How desperate do you have to be to have a NEW anything?)

That's just on the purchasing end of it. Training, maintaining, troubleshooting and financing are at least a generation back from that.

So you say the OTTO is 10 years out? But how far out is that from significant market saturation? (Baring the big hand of a government mandate like DEF was forced on us)

More realisticly the early adapters will buy them in 10 years or so the "wait and see" crowd maybe 4-5 years after that, and unless there's some sort of reason to speed the process you still have to wait out the existing lease or capitalization of your current fleet and hope that production of the new vehicle will be available.

There's already talk of OTTO 2.0 not even having a cab and being completely automated, so if you bought into OTTO 1.0 you have to wait until you can afford the upgrade. (Sorry Betamax, we know your superior, but VHS is just more popular)

Didn't even get into specialized freight and adverse weather conditions.

Long story short, job security for at least 20 years and as the steering wheel holders get weeded out the best will still be in demand for at least another decade. If you're 25-30 and just starting out? I wouldn't plan on a 40 year career but if you're over 40 odds are medical disqualification will take you out much faster than a robot.