An Interesting Thought ...

Michael Ludwig

Michael Ludwig

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Jul 6, 2009
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With the advent of the autonomous truck, the need for drivers is going to be significantly reduced. Which brings up the following question ...
Right now Canadian IRP plated trucks can run point to point in the U.S. The reason today's Canadian carrier cannot run point to point in the U.S. is because of the Canadian driver. If a Canadian carrier employs an autonomous truck, can the Canadian carrier then run point to point in the U.S.?
 
If a funeral car (deceased in the back) & driver, does that count as "2" people in car for HOV lane??? just throwing that out there. My guess no!
 
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Current autonomous trucks require a driver to be in the drivers cab to take control if needed. With only testing at this point we are 5-10 years away from government regulations being put in place.

If yes in the future autonomous trucks don't require a driver in the cab, however at that point there won't be any more small companies such as you and I. Most of the transportation will be controlled by a oligopoly.
 
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Good point, except there will still be a driver in the cab getting paid regardless of if he is actually driving. As nice as the thought of just programming a truck to go deliver a load is, it will be a long time before these trucks are capable of doing it all.

I can see a day however when trucks are autonomous with a dispatcher/programmer sitting in front of 10 screens monitoring and taking over remotely if there is a problem. Their job would also be to communicate with the shipper/receiver and remotely back the unit in when a door becomes available and ensure paperwork is scanned back and forth.

Planes can now take off and land without a pilot but if will be a long time before we are comfortable seeing a couple of empty chairs in the cockpit.
 
Currently, in North America, a driver is required in the vehicle to take over should the need arise. However in Europe, the run without drivers. Also, as in the Budweiser run, that driver was in the bunk, not the driver's seat. Government regulation is already fully in place in a handful of states with many more on the cusp of following. Five to ten years is on the far end of the spectrum. This is going to come faster than we think.
Not only will it spell the end of the driver, it will also spell the end of the small and medium size carriers, and make a significant impact on the for-hire system as a whole.
 
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As Bob Dylan said, "the times, they are a changing". One of the very few nice things about turning 65 in a few months, is I won't have to worry about or deal with these things if and when they happen.
 
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I have about 37 years left to get to 65 lol. I'll be dealing with this for sure.
 
What????? You mean the kind that are so thin and worn, you can read through them?
 
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