New Driver Less Trucks- Will It Be A Real Job Killer?

I was kinda worried about this until I actually started driving. I could see the technology used as a sort of auto-pilot where when a driver hits a nice relatively straight stretch of interstate with light traffic, he or she could activate the auto-pilot. But in heavy traffic even on the interstate near big cities, or in bad weather, or in some of these very curvy stretches of freeway, I doubt it. And forget city driving. I'd think from a safety standpoint, you'd need all the 4-wheelers to be automated before you could trust a big semi being driven wholly by computer.

Another angle to consider is the liability aspect. If your driver-less truck malfunctions and plows into the back of a traffic jam, killing many people, who is liable? Assume the carrier can prove the truck has been properly maintained. I'd think the blame, and potential lawsuits would fall directly onto the manufacturer. I'd think manufacturers would be kind of leery about such a thing.

And even if (and that's kind of a big if) these trucks were actually safer than human drivers, it wouldn't take but a few of the aforementioned incidents to leave a bad public perception of this technology, in my estimation.

A final thought, such a truck would be susceptible to being hacked, either by thieves who would get it to pull over, then steal the cargo. Or worse, terrorists who hack the truck and turn it into a 40 ton battering ram.

18 Wheels of Steel shares a real concern:

A final thought, such a truck would be susceptible to being hacked, either by thieves who would get it to pull over, then steal the cargo. Or worse, terrorists who hack the truck and turn it into a 40 ton battering ram.

Show me a computer that is 100% hack-proof...,non-existent. If there is a will, there is a way. That statement represents my greatest concern with this once and if it ever gets out there in mass numbers.

All I have to say is wow gtown. You seem to be very well versed on the subject and have put a lot of thought into this. I agree that we will all end up kind of like pilots on the highways and from what I have read that's definitely going to be the first step to full autonomous. The biggest problem I personally see with the whole issue is that like gtown said it doesn't address the underlying issue of training.

Gtown is correct on every point. 18 wheels gets the nod for the correct answer though. LIABILITY. In a previous life I worked with several managers at different levels. Many were effective but none would accept responsibility for direct labor. I know I sound cynical but the driver is necessary because someone must be blamed when things go wrong. (I wasn't always this bitter.)

Rob wrote:

Gtown is correct on every point. 18 wheels gets the nod for the correct answer though. LIABILITY. In a previous life I worked with several managers at different levels. Many were effective but none would accept responsibility for direct labor. I know I sound cynical but the driver is necessary because someone must be blamed when things go wrong. (I wasn't always this bitter.)

There is no legal, liability precident for this type of technology or how it's deployed. It's not even in beta test.

In the end you may be right though, time will tell. For me, the day I am asked to be a crash test dummy? It will be my last.

It only takes common sense to realize that drivers will not be out of a job due to automated trucks. Enough said. It's science fiction, at least for our lifetime.

Can I have some little space? . Autonomous trucks will only help companies to layoff their drivers. I know that using GPS and RFid techniques they can automatically reduce the speed at cities or at speed zones. Going automatic will be economical for companies in terms of fuel consumption and salary expenses. May be it will not affect us , I am sure new babies in this field will definitely be screwed by this technology. . I watched a documentary from National Geography that a man is just simply sitting on back seat and the car is moving through heavy traffic with even a single scratch.

Boris, even trains that run on tracks and have no possibility of getting off track still need an engineer on board. Our jobs are not going anywhere.

The country will just about need an entirely new infrastructure to support the technology, and we can barely afford to maintain the one we have now.

Going automatic will be economical for companies in terms of fuel consumption and salary expenses. May be it will not affect us , I am sure new babies in this field will definitely be screwed by this technology.

In the early 20th century blimps and zeppelins were widely considered the future of air travel. They were more economical and boasted longer non-stop flight ability than airplanes. Everyone assumed that airships were the wave of the future, and that airplanes would only see use in military settings and elite private circles. It only took one major accident involving the public, the Hindenburg (although the R101 disaster 7 years earlier was worse it received less media attention), to effectively end all airship development. It's hard to know what the future holds.

I watched a documentary from National Geography that a man is just simply sitting on back seat and the car is moving through heavy traffic with even a single scratch.

And a car doesn't have to worry about low clearances, weight limits, restricted roads, dead ends, wide turns, or the thousand other things involved in operating a truck. Cars can go just about anywhere they please, because at the end of the day almost all roads are designed for cars. And if they can't go somewhere? They can turn around with hardly a second thought. The same is not true of a truck. A driver is going to have to be onboard to direct the truck at some (most) points, because as the technology stands right now there are just some things the computer cannot do.

I'm glad someone started a thread on this--I've been wondering about how autonomous trucks might change the industry.