Automation And The Future Of Trucking

My self-driving car tries to kill me every chance it gets.

I've had to evolve so as to predict when those moments will arise, so I can take over, and live.

Self-driving trucks aren't happening in this lifetime.

Nobody will want to take on the liability of who is going to pay out from when a coder has to build the line of whether to run the truck off a cliff or run over a child in the street when stopping distance is less than x and collision avoidance is imminent. They want that liability left to the driver.

I am almost 59 years old. If I call a cab, and it shows up without a driver, I AM NOT getting in. Not today, not 10 years from now. NEVER!!! After driving and maneuvering a 72 foot long 80,000 lb. vehicle that bends in the middle, on the roads that we drive on, with the other vehicles we share the road with, it'll never work. These are tech companies that fleece investors out of billions of dollars, to fatten their wallets with some convoluted pipe dream of driverless vehicles. BTW, David Yang has about as much of a chance of becoming the President as I do. ZERO

That is my rant for the day. Carry on.

Someone may have stated this already, but I usually compare it to aircraft. Besides takeoff and landing, they are basically computer-driven, yet they still have two pilots.

Even if trucks do get automation, drivers are still going to be there for the "oh crap" moments, and for redundancy. Truck driving isn't going anywhere.

Someone may have stated this already, but I usually compare it to aircraft. Besides takeoff and landing, they are basically computer-driven, yet they still have two pilots.

That statement is an oversimplification of a very complicated human/computer/mechanical process.

There are already proposals for pilotless cargo aircraft.

However, the military drones in the mid-east are flown by pilots on the ground here in the USA. So don't be surprised if you see driverless trucks on the road a lot sooner than than any of us expect. They could be "controlled" by a roomful of people sitting at CPU's.

Someone may have stated this already, but I usually compare it to aircraft. Besides takeoff and landing, they are basically computer-driven, yet they still have two pilots.

Even if trucks do get automation, drivers are still going to be there for the "oh crap" moments, and for redundancy. Truck driving isn't going anywhere.

I think it's the same with trains.

They are on tracks. How could they possibly need anyone in 2019?

I think it's the same with trains.

They are on tracks. How could they possibly need anyone in 2019?

One word. UNIONS