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The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

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Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#51

Post by mrep »

a3n wrote: post #32

> Dealing with gear changes, airbrakes, load shifting, other vehicles that will inevitably cut you off, and much more. Awhile back there was a post about the early experience of a young and enthusiastic programmer. The take away phrase, in response to someone sending nonsense input, was "Some people just want to watch the world burn." I can see assholes trying to make sure that an automated truck can't change lanes,…

> The take away phrase, in response to someone sending nonsense input, was "Some people just want to watch the world burn."

That's a big line in the batman movie "the dark knight". While it could have originally came from elsewhere, I'd be willing to bet it came from the movie.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#52

Post by ascotan »

I'm skeptical. European roads are not American roads. According to google there are over 4 million miles of road in the US and there is very little standardization. I would venture to say that road quality is much worse in the US. I'm skeptical that the sensors in self-driving vehicles are capable of making long hauls on US roads.

> We may also need dedicated lanes as slow-moving driverless trucks could be a hazard for drivers.

I wonder if the author realizes the amount of money this would take in the US. Even if the federal government put up the money to make this happen on interstates, each state would have to come up with the money for state roads. For most states, the transportation budget is a ongoing battle and I can't see tax payer money going to automated truck lanes any time soon.

My guess is that driverless trucks will only be 'a thing' in very urban areas over a short distance due to safety, maintenance, and financial concerns. Therefore, the long haul trucker will still have a job at the end of the day.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#53

Post by patrickg_zill »

HorizonXP wrote: post #2

My father is a truck driver. He made his living driving vehicles and doing heavy lifting and menial work. Truck driving is just the latest evolution in his "career" and I'm ever grateful to him for battering his body in various ways to ensure I had every opportunity available to myself. We talk a lot about his job. It's not fun. He works long hours, a lot of it is mundane driving, and he sits idle a lot of the time.…

If everything was smooth and regular, trucks wouldn't have a problem. However, the roads, and the warehouse yards, are not.

A fully loaded truck traveling 55mph (on some roads they are allowed 65 or even 75) can weigh 80,000 lbs or more (in Canada under certain circumstances, 139,500 lbs).

That is a tremendous amount of force that must be handled properly 100% of the time, through rain, hail, sleet, snow - and with smaller cars weaving in and out of traffic all around them.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#54

Post by hellameta »

n0tsofastpal wrote: post #47

It's a super interesting subject, but I don't really buy the argument that this will drive down costs for the consumer. Never mind that whole better standard of living line...that's just cheerleading. Companies have shown over and over again in the last two decades that they are capable of absorbing those new profits from efficiencies.

I agree there are examples that show what you suggest. There are far more examples to suggest the opposite though. If the technology becomes widely available and there are enough independent companies to promote competition rather than collusion, the prices have no choice but to go down.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#55

Post by thedogeye »

n0tsofastpal wrote: post #47

It's a super interesting subject, but I don't really buy the argument that this will drive down costs for the consumer. Never mind that whole better standard of living line...that's just cheerleading. Companies have shown over and over again in the last two decades that they are capable of absorbing those new profits from efficiencies.

How much did you pay for the super computer in your hand?

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#56

Post by rndmize »

patrickg_zill wrote: post #53
HorizonXP wrote: post #2

My father is a truck driver. He made his living driving vehicles and doing heavy lifting and menial work. Truck driving is just the latest evolution in his "career" and I'm ever grateful to him for battering his body in various ways to ensure I had every opportunity available to myself. We talk a lot about his job. It's not fun. He works long hours, a lot of it is mundane driving, and he sits idle a lot of the time.…

If everything was smooth and regular, trucks wouldn't have a problem. However, the roads, and the warehouse yards, are not. A fully loaded truck traveling 55mph (on some roads they are allowed 65 or even 75) can weigh 80,000 lbs or more (in Canada under certain circumstances, 139,500 lbs). That is a tremendous amount of force that must be handled properly 100% of the time, through rain, hail, sleet, snow - and with s…

It's already not handled 100% of the time. I'll settle for 75% less freeway blocking by crashed big rigs.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#57

Post by tyingq »

a3n wrote: post #32

> Dealing with gear changes, airbrakes, load shifting, other vehicles that will inevitably cut you off, and much more. Awhile back there was a post about the early experience of a young and enthusiastic programmer. The take away phrase, in response to someone sending nonsense input, was "Some people just want to watch the world burn." I can see assholes trying to make sure that an automated truck can't change lanes,…

>I can see assholes trying to make sure that an automated truck can't change lanes

3.5 million truck drivers in the US alone. I suspect that would be your pool of assholes, and I'm not sure I would blame them.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#58

Post by duck »

"The average age of a commercial driver is 55 (and rising every year), with projected driver shortages" and "The loss of jobs representing 1 percent of the U.S. workforce will be a devastating blow to the economy" don't really add up. There is more and more jobs that young people don't want to do and this is probably one of the best examples. They have to be automated or at some point we won't have anyone to do them. In addition, this is going to take more than 10 years to get both regulations and road improvements to make this happen, so based on the current average age, a lot of them will be near/past retirement.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#59

Post by WalterBright »

Most of the truck freight carried on highways should be on railroads instead. It's economically and environmentally far more efficient.

The reason it is still carried on highways is because the highways are heavily subsidized while the railroads are not.

For example, most of the reason for expensive highway maintenance is the fatigue damage cause by trucks. Fatigue damage goes up as the cube of the weight, and the weight fees charged trucks don't remotely pay for it.

Re: The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs

#60

Post by elijahparker »

Here's an article about the self-driving trucks that were referenced in the OP: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/07/convoy-se...

They still had drivers in them, but the trucks were automated (it doesn't mention if the drivers had to override it at times or not).

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