Driverless trucks

[MikeMcMann]

They've been operating in the patch for a while but this is big time expansion and it will only continue

This Suncor worker says new fleet of driverless trucks will be a 'big hit' on Fort McMurray


Earlier this week, Suncor Energy in Calgary announced that it's going to introduce more than 150 autonomous electric trucks into its mines over the next six years.

The news means that as many as 400 jobs at the company could be cut in the process. ...

...

One of the hopes that we would have as a union, as a labour force, is that rather than using technology to eliminate positions, help enhance the positions and help create more work and help doing better things.

While that stuff is rolled out, there will be members who introduce those technologies and ensure that it remains to be safe as it moves on. ...

 

[Krixes]

What could go wrong?

 

[MikeMcMann]

What could go wrong?

lol.

I think driverless trucks and Buses, particularly outside the city limits (highways, large industry yards) makes way more sense and will be far safer than human driven ones.

In the city you have so many more things that need to be reacted to in real time that I am curious to see how the safety stats play out when you have thousands of driverless cars navigating amongst pedestrians, other vehicles, road work, etc.

On the highway or in cases like this a closed industrial area the obstacles are very predictable, speed (or lack thereof) is not an issue. And running vehicles at off or non peak hours is now much more accessible.

 

[ralphc1]

lol.

I think driverless trucks and Buses, particularly outside the city limits (highways, large industry yards) makes way more sense and will be far safer than human driven ones.

In the city you have so many more things that need to be reacted to in real time that I am curious to see how the safety stats play out when you have thousands of driverless cars navigating amongst pedestrians, other vehicles, road work, etc.

On the highway or in cases like this a closed industrial area the obstacles are very predictable, speed (or lack thereof) is not an issue. And running vehicles at off or non peak hours is now much more accessible.

These are trucks used in an open pit mine not on the road. I agree that driverless trucks might be safer. Too many times trucks drive into other trucks that are stopped alongside the road as drivers must become hypnotized and just follow the lights. One thing that seems to be a problem is that the systems like Tesla's are set up to ignore things stopped in the road because they would stop for things like chunks of rubber or other debris.