Are autonomous vehicles viable for the trucking industry?

Since the beginning of the conversations about how autonomous vehicles will change the world, one of the main topics of discussion has been that of trucking: how much safer and more efficient would the world be if our trucking industry was operated by entirely autonomous vehicles?

There are many benefits that comes to mind, such as the fact that computers do not get tired or take breaks, don’t have families to go home to, and may, in fact, be far safer than trusting a human to not make mistakes. However, for all of the possible benefits of a trucking industry dominated by autonomous vehicles, there are skeptics and detractors who are quick to point out the reality of the situation, and how unlikely it is for the trucking industry to go to self-driving vehicles anytime soon.

Regardless of which side of the conversation you fall into, there are some interesting considerations and consequences to consider when thinking about the possibility of removing drivers from the shipping industry entirely, and instead relying on computers to fill a role that is essential to our nation.

With 3.5 million truck drivers among America’s ranks, this is an important conversation to have, and will be a topic of major debate in the years to come.

One thing is certain: autonomous trucks will mean that there is a lot of new information to learn about trucking accident law.

The Benefits of Autonomous Trucks

One of the biggest benefits that supporters of an autonomous vehicle-run trucking industry is in regards to the issue of accidents: self-driving vehicles can respond to unexpected hazards as much as 9X faster than a human would, meaning that things like unexpected lane changes, objects on the road, deer running across the highway, pedestrians, and many other current causes of accidents may no longer be as serious when a computer is making the decisions.

In addition to the fact that there are notable safety benefits with an autonomous vehicle, it is equally important to consider the fact that an autonomous vehicle can travel when it makes the most sense, and not just when truck drivers operate.

Since the autonomous truck does not have a work schedule, a family to return to, or any sort of personal life that it will pursue, a self-driving truck can be available to drive at a moment’s notice and for much longer than a human. In addition, they can avoid the roads at peak hours, instead opting to drive at night and during midday to avoid costly emissions and idling costs during morning and evening traffic.

Finally, autonomous vehicles solve the problem of driver shortages. If there are not enough people who are training for this trade to replace retiring drivers, then the trucking industry will need to find alternate solutions – so why not a self-driving truck?

The Drawbacks of Autonomous Trucking

While there are many positives to consider when thinking about autonomous tractor-trailers, there are many drawbacks that science is not (currently) able to solve, much of which boils down to the experience and intuition that a truck driver has.

How well will a self-driving tractor-trailer be able to navigate a busy loading dock when compared to a truck driver? How will an autonomous vehicle handle something like a tire blowout or some cargo that has come loose in transit? These are some of the intangibles that a truck driver brings to the table that a computer will not be able to solve.

In addition, there is the complication of how we handle accidents and fatalities involving a self-driving vehicle. How safe is safe enough for the majority of people to accept autonomous vehicles as the norm?

Studies show that up to 95% of accidents are attributed to human error, but there is a lot more concern about errors attributed to self-driving vehicles than humans at this point. If an autonomous truck is involved in an accident, it understandably will draw the attention of many critics who are uncomfortable with a computer needing to make difficult decisions, like whether to swerve to avoid a group of three people even if the alternative will kill one person. Who programs the “right” decision in these types of scenarios?

Finally, the reality is that machines break and malfunction. Likely, this means that there will always need to be someone in the vehicle, and whether they are considered a driver or a technician is more of a matter of semantics. Currently, level 4 autonomous vehicles are unable to navigate construction zones, inclement weather, and a number of other circumstances that would bring the truck to a halt if there was not a human to take over the wheel.

There are a number of additional drawbacks worth exploring as well, but perhaps there is none more important than the fact that the cost of a fully-autonomous trucking industry will be staggering. Many trucking companies are small operations that do not have the financial capacity to simply replace their fleet with new, self-driving vehicles, and it will take years or decades before the last “dumb” truck is retired.

Will Autonomous Trucks Ever Take Over the Trucking Industry?

The rate of technological advances in the modern day is staggering, and it is not possible to make an unequivocal statement about whether or not autonomous vehicles will ever overtake the human-operated trucking industry. However, you can rest assured that whether or not self-driving trucks are a viable solution for the trucking industry long-term, they will not put the industry out of business overnight. As stated above, it is a costly endeavour to replace even a single truck with an autonomous vehicle.

Even if the transition were actively happening, there will need to be a driver present in the cab of the truck for a long time to come. Inclement weather, construction sites, and the final stages of a delivery are all tasks that a human driver is uniquely equipped to handle at this point, and it is probably safe to say that America’s drivers are not ready to share the highway with a tractor-trailer that does not have a human involved in it’s operation at all.

Source: www.motortradenews.com