The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

Oy vey.

Most of these "news stories" border on journalistic malpractice and this one is certainly no exception.

 

Riiiight. 5 Years, eh?

Care to place a wager on that?

 

No offense to Op or anybody who's worry but you don't understand how complex this system is going to take. We don't even have a GPS in the market that's 100% realiable, on guard system still is faulty detecting bridges shallow as a vehicle. Responding to school buses and emergency vehicle? Construction site, lane ended, road closure etc etc there's so many variable. Most people who post this stuff most likely old men who think robots are going to take over the world.

Now this isn't impossible to do, but a lot of time and investment is gna take place to make this happen. 5 years? Nope. From 2011 to 2016 what amazing new technology idea has came up? What new phone with a edge screen?

 

I'll have to disagree with you. A lot of those specialized areas are not something the average driver can just jump into. Take a read in the heavy haul forum. A lot of those guys have spent years getting the experience needed to do those jobs properly. Its not something the average person in their mid 20's can jump into with no experience. But like I said originally. With the volume of trucks on the road companies will now have to hire/contract out people to fuel and inspect the trucks en-route. Something like that is going to take around 15-30 minutes per truck. So basically you are eliminating 1 job but having to create another. Plus being this is new technology (which means its probably going to break down a lot) means the need for more technicians. Will job creation equal job loss? Probably not but since most drivers on here complain about making less than minimum wage and having to stay out for months at a time, this might work out better in their favour.

 

Not to mention flatbed loads will now need to have securement installed/removed by shippers and receivers. Load securement will also need to be checked several times while en-route.

 

OMG...75% of a 4500$ load goes to labor? Leaving 1125$ for fuel? No maintenance cost or tires or other associated cost factored in?
Besides some suspect percentages the idea that any degree of automation is waiting around the corner for an American publics acceptance is absurd. The amount of variables alone has this tech pipe dream years away from even use in the vast expanse of the west.
The only reason this continues to get traction on this forum is links to tech articles that are written because a tech author needs material to write about.
If ALL road traffic was automated then there would be a possibility for this technology to work but having a mix of automated interactive with driver controled traffic is a long way from reality. Oh sure, someone is going to post about this experiment in Europe or the recent trials on the open and unpopulated I-80 through Nevada but the reality of this gaining any significant advance or changing the current paradigm is at best a technophiles wet-dream fantasy.
Relax, no one is going to take your job; at least it won't be expensive advanced technology. Rail service, maybe...but seriously, what carrier is going to pop for an automated system that would cost 10 times what a low spec Freightliner sells for, and then pay for an expensive tech to service the system when there are mouth breathers who will take the load for a cpm that averages out to less than minimum wage?
Signed, former mouth breather.

 

The first type of freight to be automated will be vans. So if you're worry, jump to flatbed or tanker!

 

Are human drivers going to be waiting at the bottom of every off-ramp across the nation to run the "last mile"? I.e. Do the real work in the real world.

 

LOL.
These threads are another example of the fearmongering that's prevalent in the industry. "Oh they rolled a convoy of automated trucks in Europe. Gloom and doom! Gloom and doom! Be afraid! Be very afraid!"

(Sigh)

When I was in school, we had to learn how to write. Practiced all the letters, and then we had to learn to write in cursive. Apparently, it isn't taught anymore. I was chatting with my nephew about calligraphy. He didn't think much of it, until I showed him a video of how important Lebron James views his signature. I pointed out to my nephew that only the wealthy give consideration to writing and writing well. Something that was common when I was in school is now uncommon.

Centuries ago, there were people called scribes, who would write and copy. Their work was beautiful and highly sought after. Then Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press. As you could probably guess, all the low end scribes were worried. They would be out of work. It's funny, because even with today's laser jet printers, and all the other things we have available, there are still scribes that get paid well to write beautifully.

"Six, stay with us. We're talking about automated trucks...not pen and paper."

Very well. Put simply, if YOU are worried about YOUR job because of an automated truck, YOU are a no talent steeringwheelholder. You're a TV dinner. You just fill a void, not a need. The roads will actually be safer when you are rendered obsolete.

Understand now?