Should truck drivers be worried

www.wesh.com...

Self-driving semi travels nearly 10 miles on Florida’s Turnpike, company says

My guess is that these trucks will be fully on the road in less than 10 years, maybe sooner in some areas.
That probably won't bode well for truck drivers. I just read that domino's wants to delivery pizzas by drone.
Pretty soon truck/delivery/mail drivers will be completely obsolete. What other areas will this reach, trash pickup?

I'm actually all for self driving trucks. I read that it will save thousands of lives.

I just wonder what else will this touch. There are around 3.5 million truckers. They have to eat and sleep and get snacks at
gas stations. What kind effect will this have on other areas. Insurance??

a reply to: JAGStorm

I work partly in shipping and the number of shipments I have to rescue from bonehead late drivers/mainstream LTL carriers not to mention last minute changes due to logistics, this would be a nightmare for everyone because I don't trust a computer over a person to understand urgency and fix problems

originally posted by: chris_stibrany
a reply to: JAGStorm

I work partly in shipping and the number of shipments I have to rescue from bonehead late drivers/mainstream LTL carriers not to mention last minute changes due to logistics, this would be a nightmare for everyone because I don't trust a computer over a person to understand urgency and fix problems

Well at least you'd be able to blame it on a computer instead of a person???

Automation will take all of the jobs. How are people going to buy anything if nobody is working? Automation will collapse our economy, people need money to spend it. Businesses need people to buy their products or services to profit, if people have no money the businesses will go out of business. We are on the wrong path. Just think of the economic impact of losing truckdrivers will be, how many restaurants and motels will become unprofitable?

I do not think I would want to be driving on a road with a self driving semi on it during a very strong wind condition weather event, or on a highway that is slush covered or icy, the ability to reason in a skid is important, how many experienced truck drivers avoided accidents by having experience in handling the rigs.

a reply to: JAGStorm

But as you know that would make response times far slower etc. lol

originally posted by: JAGStorm
www.wesh.com...

Self-driving semi travels nearly 10 miles on Florida’s Turnpike, company says

My guess is that these trucks will be fully on the road in less than 10 years, maybe sooner in some areas.
That probably won't bode well for truck drivers. I just read that domino's wants to delivery pizzas by drone.
Pretty soon truck/delivery/mail drivers will be completely obsolete. What other areas will this reach, trash pickup?

I'm actually all for self driving trucks. I read that it will save thousands of lives.

I just wonder what else will this touch. There are around 3.5 million truckers. They have to eat and sleep and get snacks at
gas stations. What kind effect will this have on other areas. Insurance??

I can see benefit in some areas, but I don't think a typical trucker has anything to worry about anytime soon. The tech simply is not there yet and won't be for awhile... and we haven't even gotten into the legal and liability ramifications.

What I do see this tech spurring is maybe better upkeep of our roads and infrastructure. So maybe the construction industry will boom as a result. AI simply isn't smart or nuanced enough to work well on deteriorating roads.

a reply to: JAGStorm

All delivery drivers should be worried about this. Self driving vehicles will be crippling to millions of drivers!

a reply to: Edumakated

What I am annoyed about is the newer DOT regulations with the electronic mileage meters. Most of the drivers were not driving unsafely but they are having to add a day or two or more onto their transits.

originally posted by: rickymouse
Automation will take all of the jobs. How are people going to buy anything if nobody is working? Automation will collapse our economy, people need money to spend it. Businesses need people to buy their products or services to profit, if people have no money the businesses will go out of business. We are on the wrong path. Just think of the economic impact of losing truckdrivers will be, how many restaurants and motels will become unprofitable?

I do not think I would want to be driving on a road with a self driving semi on it during a very strong wind condition weather event, or on a highway that is slush covered or icy, the ability to reason in a skid is important, how many experienced truck drivers avoided accidents by having experience in handling the rigs.

Automation won't take all the jobs. Other jobs will be created as a result. Travel agents didn't just go kill themselves when Travelocity, etc came along. Stockbrokers didn't wander off into the woods to die alone because of Etrade.

These types of shifts occur over time and people retrain and find new opportunities. We may have more construction jobs than ever before because all this tech needs better roads to work well. Maybe some enterprising truckers may wind up working on designing/programming the AI with real world experience.

People have been looking for ways to automate sense the beginning of time.

a reply to: Edumakated

Travel agents didn't just go kill themselves when Travelocity, etc came along.

Funny you mention travel agents. People are starting to go back to them. It appears all those websites and planning isn't as easy as they make it seem. I wonder if the same thing will happen with trucking.. Pay more for a human delivery?
Funny how things work sometimes.

originally posted by: chris_stibrany
a reply to: Edumakated

What I am annoyed about is the newer DOT regulations with the electronic mileage meters. Most of the drivers were not driving unsafely but they are having to add a day or two or more onto their transits.

Yeah, I hate over regulation like that because of a few bad apples. It raises costs for everyone with very little return and proof of stopping bad actors.

I could see AI acting as a co-driver and maybe making some of those rules unnecessary. I can see certain stretches of road where AI is allowed, but not others. Only can come on with GPS. For example, if you are on long stretches of straight highway with very low traffic density, GPS could allow auto-pilot/driver to take over. However, once you get to another area either construction or high density areas, the auto-pilot wouldn't work.

a reply to: JAGStorm

We should ALL be worried Jag.

It will probably have the same type of effect to a lesser extent as when we switched from primarily shopping in department stores to shopping online.

It all sounds rosy until there is a major glitch on Interstate 81.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Edumakated

Travel agents didn't just go kill themselves when Travelocity, etc came along.

Funny you mention travel agents. People are starting to go back to them. It appears all those websites and planning isn't as easy as they make it seem. I wonder if the same thing will happen with trucking.. Pay more for a human delivery?
Funny how things work sometimes.

Yeah, there are travel agents who specialize in planning complex trips. I hired one to plan my honeymoon travel. I had just started a new job requiring very long hours so didn't have time to do everything. I was using points, upgrades, etc. This was 18 years ago. I hired this lady who did everything for me. I think I paid her like $500. It was well worth the money at the time.

Some things require more hand holding and service levels. An app or AI can't do everything.

If I were a young truck driver, I would be looking at retraining right now. Today there aren't enough truck drivers. Automation will soak up the need, then go after the jobs. It's just a matter of time and it won't be that long.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Worried? No.

Look for a different career, maybe.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: JAGStorm

Worried? No.

Look for a different career, maybe.

The risk is highest in Indiana and Kentucky, where some counties have nearly half the workforce employed in the labor-intensive manufacturing and transportation industries.

www.usnews.com...

Hope they are looking now!

originally posted by: schuyler
If I were a young truck driver, I would be looking at retraining right now. Today there aren't enough truck drivers. Automation will soak up the need, then go after the jobs. It's just a matter of time and it won't be that long.

Most people don't look more than 6 mos out in their lives...

I work in mortgage / real estate and we are being attacked on all sides right now. It is crazy how tech is infiltrating everything. AI is being used more and more.

Mortgage lenders aren't even requiring appraisals a lot of times now. Computer tells us if we need to send out an appraiser or not by looking at big data/stats. Appraisers jobs are going away for all but the most complex properties or those where the data confidence isn't high. I don't think it will end well.

Most mortgages are approved by automated underwriting systems. The human underwriter just makes sure all the docs match up to the computer input more than anything. New tech now is going to be importing your income/assets directly from employers eliminating that step.

At a company meeting, management was talking about how great some of the AI was and helping us from an efficiency standpoint. Today it is great.... however, it is just one more step in eliminating my job.

I see the writing on the wall. I've basically given myself about 5 years to find something else to do. The money is great but you'd have to blind and an idiot to not see that 80% of the jobs are going to be automated in this industry.

It is what it is... can cry about it or just adapt.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Yes, truck drivers should be worried, consumers should cheer, with the reduction in shipping costs via autonomous vehicles will be a direct cost savings that could be passed onto the consumer.