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Have you driven in Dallas or Austin? They have already done this with miles of highway around both of those cities. Specifically Dallas where you have I-35 then under and around it is the George Bush tollway. In Las Vegas they're building tunnels where only autonomous vehicles, Tesla only at this point, are allowed to drive. The infrastructure can and will be built out, and I believe in most cases will be paid for by those business interests who have the most to gain from it. In the case of Las Vegas, it was paid for by Tesla, many of the Casinos that are connected by the tunnels, and government bonds. This advancement toward autonomous commercial vehicles will be a boon to the transportation indunstry. And although I believe it will happen, I agree it won't be100% within my (53) or even my child's (25) lifetime.

There could conceivably be a completely separate set of roadways built out specifically for such vehicles

With what money? I can't see the general public supporting politicians that push for higher taxes to accommodate this. If they tax those using self driving equipment to maintain that road it'll decrease those that can afford it. Have you seen how terrible many interstates are currently? How would they have the space available to add extra lanes into metro areas? Traffic is already a mess in many densely populated areas that taking away an existing lane isnt the answer either. Self driving vehicles are going to cost quite a bit more than a normal truck. If they still need a driver in the vehicle they'll have trouble finding anyone if they also cut their pay so where's the incentive?

As mentioned before it's those outside, or just entering the industry that buy into this hype of self driving trucks. If you're legitimately concerned about it find a niche in the industry that can't be automated. This industry will never be 100% self driving trucks.

The technology exists. The next, and biggest hurdle, is preparing the vehicular infrastructure to accommodate them en mass. I think, from a perspective of the future of autonomous vehicles, that's the bigger picture.

And that involves technology as well. Along with changes in our transportation systems. There could conceivably be a completely separate set of roadways built out specifically for such vehicles. This is already being accomplished in Las Vegas with the Tesla tunnels.

There is a great deal of planning and work to be done. And hopefully it gets done right.

A lot of the focus of this thread has been on the technical aspects of self-driving semis, but technology does not drive the market. Think VHS recorders with all the bells and whistles and microwave ovens, which are obsolete and mundane respectively.

In our mass media and advertising driven culture, sex appeal drives the market to a certain extent, but at the end of the day you have to provide goods or services that people want on a repeat basis.

For those who are thinking about investing in the next evolution of transportation you would need to think bigger picture rather than simply saying there's technology for self-driving vehicles there for that the future of transportation.

A reference was made to Google and Amazon. Neither one of those are outstanding technological innovations in their function. Google is simply a central repository for mass amounts of information and navigation. Amazon is simply an online shopping store. Nothing groundbreaking with either one of those.

Tesla is not necessarily a self-driving car company but rather an electric car company. The self-driving aspects of the car are simply an additional function of an electric car. And the basic appeal of a Tesla is that it's a luxury car that appeals to a certain cultural sentiment of environmentally conscious. Again no rocket science there.

If you really want to think of something that was a groundbreaking technology that changed things, think of George de Mestral and his hunting trip in Switzerland.

You're training in Gary? Wow pretty close to where I'll be in Chicago. That's where the Intermodal yard is. Hope you like that gig, sounds good.

HI Francis,

I start also Monday with Schneider. I graduated on March 11, took the SOS on March 9th. Hazmat, Tanker and Doubles/Triples endorsements plus TWIC Card. I am from Aurora IL. About 1 Hour from the terminal in Gary Indiana. Driving myself but staying at the hotel as well. I am on a dedicated account with Walmart day time deliveries. 2 Days off a week(if I want). Its a $5000 sign on bonus paid monthly. Plus tuition reimbursement at $200 a month(so so). I am sure yours is similar.

See ya then Keith

Hey folks,

I am starting my orientation and training with Schneider Intermodel Monday. It will be in Chicago, so I'm really excited to see that city for the first time. I graduated from American Truck Training on the 7th of May when I passed my CDL exam. The school is not bad. They have great instructors but are lacking in the area of equipment. Still, the training was apparently effective given I passed my exam on the first take.

I almost went with a company school but the thought of living in a house with 9 other people wasn't appealing. Plus, I wanted some flexibility in deciding with whom I would be driving. It gave me the opportunity to really consider every aspect of the position and the company.

Yes, I now have to pay back that school loan, but I think it was worth it in the long run. I still understand the benefits of a company owned training opportunity and would recommend anyone considering a career in trucking weigh all your options before deciding.

This site definitely helped me make some of my decisions, and I thank all who were kind enough to post your experiences and knowledge of the industry.

I truly hope to do my part here for the next crop of truckers and wish everyone safe travels.

Hey folks,

I am starting my orientation and training with Schneider Intermodel Monday. It will be in Chicago, so I'm really excited to see that city for the first time. I graduated from American Truck Training on the 7th of May when I passed my CDL exam. The school is not bad. They have great instructors but are lacking in the area of equipment. Still, the training was apparently effective given I passed my exam on the first take.

I almost went with a company school but the thought of living in a house with 9 other people wasn't appealing. Plus, I wanted some flexibility in deciding with whom I would be driving. It gave me the opportunity to really consider every aspect of the position and the company.

Yes, I now have to pay back that school loan, but I think it was worth it in the long run. I still understand the benefits of a company owned training opportunity and would recommend anyone considering a career in trucking weigh all your options before deciding.

This site definitely helped me make some of my decisions, and I thank all who were kind enough to post your experiences and knowledge of the industry.

I truly hope to do my part here for the next crop of truckers and wish everyone safe travels.

Howdy, Francis !!!

Welcome to Trucking Truth, good sir.

I'm hoping you meant you passed on the 7th of MARCH, but if you have a time machine...I'd be more'n happy to borrow it, haha!!

There are a TON of great SNI diaries on here; many of our veteran drivers got their starts there. Please stick around, ask away, and post a diary, as you mentioned!

Again, welcome to Trucking Truth. :)

~ Anne ~

LOL, yes March 7th. So the SNI gig is pretty sweet. 3 weeks out 1 week home. They give 2 days of travel. So I plan to maximize that time off. I also plan to put in an extra week here or there to help pay off my debts. Plan to be debt free in a year if all goes according to plan. Then it's save for retirement and find ways to make my money work for me.

One of the biggest tricks (scams) in the tech world is to appear like you are about to bust out with something really big. That draws the attention of investors. Many of these so called leaders in autonomous truck technologies have no intention of ever bringing their tech to the marketplace. They are actually looking for someone to buy their company. They could care less if the tech develops further or gets buried by one of their competitors.

They want the easy money that comes from the start-up phase. They don't really understand how to deal with the realities of being profitable in a competitive marketplace. As long as they can sell out big during the development stage they are happy to move on to the next cutting edge tech development.

Disclaimer...

I'm not a financial advisor. I would never have invested in Tesla. I never in a million years would have seen them get to where they are now.

From a tech perspective self driving semi-tractors already exist and there are some on the road today. They are, of course, driver assisted due to the many variables you mentioned. Tesla is a Unicorn. Elon is just a very savvy manager and was determined to not fail, but to also differentiate enough to be that unicorn. We will begin seeing the infrastructure for autonomous friendly roadways in the next decade, and autonomous vehicles being ubiquitous in about 15-20 years. Nevertheless, especially with commercial vehicles, there will always be an operator "at the wheel" in case of emergency. Invest in things such as LIDAR and tech that will help build out the infrastructure.

Hey folks,

I am starting my orientation and training with Schneider Intermodel Monday. It will be in Chicago, so I'm really excited to see that city for the first time. I graduated from American Truck Training on the 7th of May when I passed my CDL exam. The school is not bad. They have great instructors but are lacking in the area of equipment. Still, the training was apparently effective given I passed my exam on the first take.

I almost went with a company school but the thought of living in a house with 9 other people wasn't appealing. Plus, I wanted some flexibility in deciding with whom I would be driving. It gave me the opportunity to really consider every aspect of the position and the company.

Yes, I now have to pay back that school loan, but I think it was worth it in the long run. I still understand the benefits of a company owned training opportunity and would recommend anyone considering a career in trucking weigh all your options before deciding.

This site definitely helped me make some of my decisions, and I thank all who were kind enough to post your experiences and knowledge of the industry.

I truly hope to do my part here for the next crop of truckers and wish everyone safe travels.