The Future of Trucking

I'm either ahead of you, or behind you. Depends on my pain levels when I wake up.

 

I know they have been using autonomous trucks in Europe for a year or so with operators along for the ride. Their tests have been quite successful so I can imagine that they will probably come to this continent as well in the next 20 years or so. They would probably be used for short hauls at first and then expand from there. I would say that we may see them in wide spread use in the next 50 years or so. Right now the cost of the units is very high, but when it becomes cost effective, I'm sure there will be more interest in them.

 

We will still have morons on the road, and I mean the 4 wheelers, that will still find a way to crash into them. As I am also sure, as I type this, there is a law school gearing up on classes on how to sue the companies.

maybe they will use autonomous lawyers?

 

there are days and times we would be better off with an autonomous truck beside us
as i ride by some white volvo with driver resting his leg on the dash

many of the budweiser plants have all robot forklifts moving freight around the warehouse

 

Liability of autonomous vehicles is an issue that will need to be worked out. But there are two things that play in favor of it not being a big deal for trucks.
1. Cars will comes first. There will be a ton of autonomous cars on the road by the time we see the first trucks. So whatever liability issues arise will likely have been worked out long before trucking gets into the game.
2. Autonomous vehicles require gobs of sensors in order to work. They utilize video cameras and radar and a boatload of other sensors. All of that data is recordable. If a manually driven vehicle gets in an accident with an autonomous vehicle, there will be plenty of data and video which shows exactly who did what and when which means the driver of a 4-wheeler that did something stupid and wound up hitting an autonomous truck because of it won't have much a leg to stand on legally speaking when he tried to argue it was the truck's fault.

 

I don't believe we'll totally see it in my lifetime, but hey I guess I'm all for it. Seems it might be the only way to eliminate that nasty Pizza at Pilot / Flying J.

 

I'd just like to know how everyone is supposed to pay a mortgage and feed our kids when half our jobs are taken by robots. Unemployment and underemployment is already a big problem. They are sure gonna have to do a better job keeping roads cleared and dry if robot trucks are using them. Watch a robot anticipate changing road conditions as well as an alert and knowledgeable driver. If they do find a way to keep roads cleaned for robot trucks, I think that alone would improve safety enough we wouldn't need automated trucks. It'd be easier to ban privately owned cars and put everyone on mass transit. Traffic counts would drop way down if it was just buses and trucks.

 

I suppose that's possible since the technology already exists. But I think its more likely that by 2025 we'll see trucks that do some or possibly even most of the driving but still require an operator of some sort. I would guess you need to add another 10 to 20 years before you see completely autonomous trucks with no operator on board in any large numbers. But that's only a guess.

The smart thing for anyone in high school today would be to go to a large school and dual major in computers/robotics and diesel mechanics. Then work a while in both fields while doing an advance degree in education. Then start teaching because autonomous vehicles are going to need way more mechanics than exist now and those mechanics are going to have to have way more education than they have now.

 

What I underlined.

For me personally, I only have "in theory" 4 more years to retirement. Now that could mean 4 more years till 65, or 4 more years to 62. But it comes down to 4 MORE years till I retire, PERIOD. That being said, I will have my pension and SS to live on. My mortgage is nearly paid off. So I worry not about feeding kids, college, mortgage, etc,etc.

As for the "youngin's" that are so hell bent on seeing this robotic crap take place, then it is THOSE people/drivers, that MUST worry, since THEY WANTED to see it, or have it come "true" in short time.

I think too that since it has been so well known for so many years, that truckers DO NOT stand together and make changes, that cycle will continue, as the jobs dwindle away.

No one has to "worry" about feeding the kids, and paying a mortgage, since no one does anything about it, as a group.

There used to be a saying, "one for all, and all for one", DOES NOT apply to truckers, where the truckers saying is, "I ain't got the time to get involved, I gotta go, I'll let someone else do it".

And in the end, someone else will "do it to" the trucking world. Not "For" the trucking world, or it's lazy arsed stand back drivers, that "ain't got no time".