Economy UPS is delivering packages with self driving Semi's

[all caps]

We could all get ourselves run over by these rogue trucks to stop the spread of this satanic technology

 

[Rational Poster]

You're still gonna need people behind the wheel full time. But yah, eventually long haul drivers will be a thing of the past, with a few drivers still doing specialized jobs like tanker/grain trucks, construction hauling, and Hazmat loads which 100% require an actual human to be with the truck.

As long as we still share roads with these vehicles they'll have to be manned I think.

 

[Dirt Road Soldier]

Closet gays and meth heads are going to be pissed when they find out they can't blow each other at truck stops in exchange for $37k/year.

If you are only making 37k a year driving truck, you are either remarkably lazy or only doing day cab work.

 

[MikeMcMann]

All that money they could potentially save will be paid out via lawsuits when something goes haywire and one of their vehicles plows into a few others and kills/severely injures people. How would insurance even work for a vehicle without a human driver I wonder.

much easier than for human drivers and human error actually.

the accident rates per mile, minor or serious incidents are already a fraction in the 8 million miles googles self driving cars have logged and they are adding more than 25,000 miles a day.

This is an Insurance Companies dreams as total claims will go way, way down.

 

[MikeMcMann]

It sounds like it will be much safer before too long. No falling asleep at the wheel, no aggressive driving are two big ones. Hope they don't skimp on blind spot detection though. We'll need thorough techs checking these out at every stop. What about refueling/recharging though?

I guess this thread is bound to take a turn away from reality, with lots of complaining about automation. Meh, it's inevitable, so...?

Once you turn every car on the roads into basically a train, with automated consistent spacing, cars merging in without needing to slow the flow of traffic as other cars try to block and thus creating the eventual stop of traffic downstream as the braking continues, the amount of traffic jams will be reduced to near nothing. This will contribute massively to overall efficiency in the economy as grid lock costs are enormous.

 

[djacobox372]

Automation is good, who wants to drive a truck 14 hours a day when one can be made that can drive itself?

The problem is how we divide the spoils of the last 10,000 years of human progress.... the current plan of giving everything to whoever is holding the baton at the end is ridiculous.

 

[djacobox372]

Once you turn every car on the roads into basically a train, with automated consistent spacing, cars merging in without needing to slow the flow of traffic as other cars try to block and thus creating the eventual stop of traffic downstream as the braking continues, the amount of traffic jams will be reduced to near nothing. This will contribute massively to overall efficiency in the economy as grid lock costs are enormous.

Not to mention that in most cities the amount of space reserved for cars (parking and roads) exceeds the amount of space reserved for humans.

 

[Strychnine]

Fed ex < UPS < USPS



If you don’t use usps, you’re doing it wrong.

They also hire veterans at a large rate.

 

[nostradumbass]

If you are only making 37k a year driving truck, you are either remarkably lazy or only doing day cab work.

How much do truckers make? I'll be honest; I did 0 homework on this and just based the number off a commercial when I was kid that said "make up to $35k/year" and just ramped the number up by 2k.

 

[PEB]

Don't worry Yang gang will give you 1000 a month to do nothing. Heck you will not miss that 1700 a week check.

 

[JbModest]

I'm curious how these trucks will deal with cars cutting them off right and left during traffic jams.

 

[nostradumbass]

They also hire veterans at a large rate.

I think UPS does too, actually. I loaded trucks for them briefly in college and the drivers do make good money and have a lot of days off.

 

[PEB]

How much do truckers make? I'll be honest; I did 0 homework on this and just based the number off a commercial when I was kid that said "make up to $35k/year" and just ramped the number up for 2k.

Reply long haul and hazmat drivers "medical waste and chemical make over 75K a year if you own your own truck an subcontract your near 200K. Downside if your doing over I think 35,000 miles a year you have to buy transaxle's for your trunk if sub contracting.

 

[PrinceOfPain]

Isn't "driver" something like the most common job in the US?
That's millions of people who're going to have a looooot of time on their hands in the not-too-distant future.

 

[Dirt Road Soldier]

How much do truckers make? I'll be honest; I did 0 homework on this and just based the number off a commercial when I was kid that said "make up to $35k/year" and just ramped the number up by 2k.

Even if you go into one of the big national carriers for schooling (they pay crap and will work you like a mule for a year) making 40k+ your first year is easy. Just don't expect to be home every weekend, you gotta be out for a few weeks at a time or more to get the miles to make the good money. If you want to be home every weekend you won't get the miles to really make it worthwhile. If you do schooling on your own through a tech school or private and get on with either a big construction company or a decent OTR carrier you can make even more but thats a tougher route with a lot of upfront costs and no for sure job waiting for you in the end.

Once you have some experience under your belt you can get into the big money hauling with oversized loads, or go all out and do HAZMAT hauling where you get paid to essentially drive 80000 pound bombs. There are drivers that bring home 100k a year pulling that shit. Owner operators can bring in even more if they aren't spending it all to make their trucks look like giant chrome toys.

 

[Strychnine]

Isn't "driver" something like the most common job in the US?
That's millions of people who're going to have a looooot of time on their hands in the not-too-distant future.

My young cousin just became a trucker and I saw him at a funeral months ago. I told him "Save your money man..."

 

[MikeMcMann]

How much do truckers make? I'll be honest; I did 0 homework on this and just based the number off a commercial when I was kid that said "make up to $35k/year" and just ramped the number up by 2k.

40 years ago being a Long Haul driver was considered a considerable skill and you had to have years driving other classes of vehicles with a clean abstract to get that job. Drivers were making solid 6 figure salaries ($150k+) and some around $200k a year if they owned their own truck. You could not just jump into the job due to the perceived risk to the public of less experienced drivers on the road.

Then in the late 80's (?) the same thing happened to the trucking industry that happened to the Taxi industry years prior. The introduction of the Mc'Drivers, mostly new arrival immigrants, being pumped thru Mc'Driving Schools popping up all over and advertising for students, who would pass the schooling and road test and immediately be put into long haul at a fraction of the labour costs. Drivers were making $40k to start and up to a ceiling of about $80k for now very experiences drivers.

The math worked. The increase in accidents, even deadly ones, was paid for by much higher Insurance premiums but the wage savings were still greater.

Accidents and death were literally accepted in the tradeoff for wage concessions.

 

[Cole train]

They already trying drones to deliver packages here

 

[nostradumbass]

Even if you go into one of the big national carriers for schooling (they pay crap and will work you like a mule for a year) making 40k+ your first year is easy. Just don't expect to be home every weekend, you gotta be out for a few weeks at a time or more to get the miles to make the good money. If you want to be home every weekend you won't get the miles to really make it worthwhile. If you do schooling on your own through a tech school or private and get on with either a big construction company or a decent OTR carrier you can make even more but thats a tougher route with a lot of upfront costs and no for sure job waiting for you in the end.

Once you have some experience under your belt you can get into the big money hauling with oversized loads, or go all out and do HAZMAT hauling where you get paid to essentially drive 80000 pound bombs. There are drivers that bring home 100k a year pulling that shit. Owner operators can bring in even more if they aren't spending it all to make their trucks look like giant chrome toys.

Not for this, but it seems like hazmat driving might not go away.

If I had to guess, I'd think they'll probably try it and then find that robots cost more between startup and lawsuits and switch back to people.

 

[Dirt Road Soldier]

Not for this, but it seems like hazmat driving might not go away.

If I had to guess, I'd think they'll probably try it and then find that robots cost more between startup and lawsuits and switch back to people.

The hangup will be the cost of new automated trucks (I would guess you are looking at 4-500k a rig) plus having to keep a driver in the seat anyways. And you have to factor in how long the software lasts, how much upgrades will cost, how much the software tech repairs will cost, and that a lot of trucks only have a lifespan of 10-15 years before you are sinking serious money into engine rebuilds and repairs. If the upfront cost + yearly upkeep isn't a monstrous savings a lot of companies may choose to just keep the drivers and save themselves the headaches.