Profile For Oliver Q.

Yeah, I hear ya Oliver!.. But I brought my concern, previous knowledge and smarts here too a few months back and am now a LOT less worried that this career is gonna change much for the worse anytime soon enough for any of us to be much affected by. Especially in the automation dept. Just this week I heard (on NPR "Marketplace"--anyone catch which company Kai said, or'd you hear elsewhere?) that one of the major car manufacturers has "ditched it's driverless car" program/project/research. Rest assured that they'd already made a big investment in it and wouldn't bail on it lightly, but only if well-informed it's just not worth their pursuing. Watch for others to follow suit, as at least some small ones already have.

As for autonomous trucks, the direct specter here, that's similar and probably at least as much or more problematic overall. (Though Banks, as far as fueling, etc., and other non-"driving" issues, most of that stuff could be relatively easily overcome; i.e., remember the old days when a "filling station" worker like Gomer Pyle would handle all that for all motorists? No biggie there.) The other issues raised are more relevant, and disqualifying... Did you read what BRETT has had to say about this? A lot, and I've now little doubt it's essentially sound.

You mention Tu Simple, based near me and which I've posted about before. They act all scary-on-the-horizon, but I agree that it's turning into, more and more, wannabe hype in order to keep the millions of investment bux flowing into their coffers. They're always advertising as if they have driver openings, but I'd almost bet my career it's mostly just part of the hype. Gives the less savvy public and truckers entering the field the image of a burgeoning industry, but there's no way they have a continual need for drivers unless no one wants to stay there at all. (They still have to have 2 humans on board to do their major road tests, and their fleet is tiny. The most worrisome aspect right now is the level of oversight and accountability involved in what they ARE doing. They're being WAY under-regulated, especially in terms of notifications of when and where they're on the roads...as if it's "No worries, nothing to see here anybody, we're just cruisin' along doing a little safe and important testing..."

I appreciate the reply!

I am currently set to finish my CDL school.

My dad drives for a living and absolutely loves what he does. I would ideally like to follow in his footsteps and keep the tradition going. ( UPS tractor trailer driver )

However I'm questioning the future of this industry. There are companies like TU simple , waymo , and even volvo developing driverless trucks.

This scares me not only because of my dad's future / retirement but my own future if I actually decide to go through with this. I'm 22 now and am not sure if this industry is going to be around long enough for me to do this.

I have spoken to my dad directly about this and he seems like he isn't worried about it BUT he doesn't really keep up or understand the technology.

So lastly , is this something I should just feel stupid about worrying about?