Self Driving Trucks ARE HERE... Licensed in Nevada.

An Hybrid Prius cost 30-40k for that thing. Imagine the price tag on that truck. Technology is gonna be too expensive right now for any trucking company. It's gonna be awhile before it's affordable for mass production. 20 yrs is my guess. Plus a lot of regulations from state to state.

 

Don't worry, even if all our jobs are lost to our robot overlords the govt. will simply supply all humans with a monthly wage to prevent revolution. Numerous smart billionaires have seriously talked about this including Bill Gates, Elon Musk and others, it will happen.

 

The day we become this reliant on tech is the day I pack my things and move to the wilderness. No government checks for me.

 

Throw them all in the back of a 53 foot and set the truck to go to china, world will be a better place with the truck and
It's cargo found in the middle of the pacific ocean. Many problems solved in the one trip.

 

Yes the time is near. Drivers will still be needed for city driving in most situations. But highway driving will be all automated. The robot will pull over when it gets to a city and a human will come out and get it and take it the rest of the way.

It is quite amazing that we could be alive to see the end of the human race as we know it.

 

I have watched the videos from Volvo Trucks that demonstrate this technology. They are mainly using it in low speed, congested situations. the truck fully takes over, maintaining its lane, and using OnGuard style technology to avoid collisions. On the open road drivers are in charge. I read the article detailing how this system works in the Freightliner test truck. The driver has to engage the autonomous mode and must monitor it to insure safe operation. It uses current technology you see on trucks to avoid collisions to do this. In the article it says the truck will maintain lane and speed but in order to do something other than drive forward in its lane the driver has to intervene. Changing lanes, merging, exiting, and backing/parking maneuvers are all driver functions. Once I read all that I realized this thing really isn't as futuristic as I was led to believe from all the hype.
My opinion is that rather than educate drivers on proper operation of the vehicles they are driving; companies are simply trying to fill seats with someone that can hold the wheel. In the end your driver pool is going to be just as good as the work that you put in; in this case zero. A real driver knows what he or she is driving and understands fully how a truck operates. I have walked up to drivers in trucks that I think would make a good unit when the day comes I wish to buy my own and will ask, what engine do you have? You would be surprised how many guys can't tell me what is under the hood. I had one guy tell me he had a Paccar under the hood and after our conversation I walked by and saw on the sticker right by the driver door Certified Clean Idle Cummins; it wasn't a Paccar. This trend towards automated transmissions and trucks that remove thinking and decision making from the driver results in increased ignorance among drivers in equipment operation. If you don't know what you are driving or how the engine makes its power and where along its torque curve than how can we expect trucks to be operated efficiently and safely?
Rather than constantly striving to make trucks "safer" or "easier to operate" why not spend the time and money to actually train new drivers to operate this equipment? I am a new driver myself and during my training I was taught how to back and how to get the truck down the road but not one word of advice was given how to operate the truck efficiently. Neither was there any instruction about what I was actually driving as to the ins and outs of my transmission and engine. Luckily for me I had driven manual transmissions and diesels for years as personal vehicles and understood much about them. Someone without this background would have no idea how a diesel works, much less obtain a deeper understanding in the operation of a manual transmission. This is a skilled profession and I would like to see it treated as such. This trend to automate and make things easier is a race to the bottom in regards to driver quality. Sorry to stand on my soap box for so long but this irritates the hell out of me.

 

Okay this one I want to tackle. Has anybody been on the New York State Thruway where the doubles drop off? Or been to a TWIC port?

Okay, imagine this at EVEY highway exit ramp.

I thought so. Notgonnahappen.com

 

its before the harriman travel plaza and yes i agree this is an experiment that will go no-where.

You cannot replace a computer to replace a driver for driving in LA or any major metropolitan city.

Just not going to happen. Also it will trigger massive activity by freight theft rings since, well no one is manning the truck. Stupid

 

Fantasyland. Relax guys your careers are safe.

 

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