Will Autonomous Delivery Automobiles Supplant Truck Drivers?

Tractor-trailers and 18-wheelers are a key component of the nation’s economy.  However, big rigs also cause thousands of auto accidents, gruesome injuries and deaths every single year on the country’s highways.  It might not be long until autonomous trucks supplant human truck drivers.  Such a development is a boon in that it will decrease the number of accidents on the highways yet it also means the loss of the nation’s most popular job of truck driver.  The shift to automation is likely to occur in a gradual manner in which a couple autonomous trucks follow behind a human-driven truck, gradually expanding to the point at which a human driver heads an entire convoy of automated trucks.

Is the Clock Ticking on Human Truck Drivers?

The fact that autonomous trucks are currently being tested on highways in numerous states is problematic for truck drivers.  Though these trucks will not take the jobs of human truck drivers right away, we must explore the possibility of automated drivers replacing human drivers in due time.  Thankfully, it will likely prove impossible to replace every single human driver as these individuals do much more than merely drive.  In fact, it is quite possible that certain levels of automation will actually help human drivers rather than render them unemployed.

As noted above, the prospects of trucks platooning in a convoy will still require a human driver leading the pack.  There is also the chance that trucks will be partially automated, allowing drivers with less skill and experience to pilot autonomous big rigs.  There is also the potential for automation to increase drive time limits.  Though the FMCSA has service limit hours for all truck drivers, the move toward autonomous trucks will help drivers get some much-needed rest and ultimately boost productivity.

Will Local Delivery Drivers be Replaced by Autonomous Cars?

Google’s autonomous vehicle maker, Waymo, is insisting the California DMV ramp up regulations that permit diminutive self-driving delivery vehicles to commence road testings.  Such vehicles are currently undergoing evaluations in the south and southwest, making human drivers quite nervous.  Consider the REV-1, a small robot weighing a mere 80 pounds that travels upwards of 15 miles per hour.  REV-1 was created to deliver goods locally within a radius of a half mile to 2.5 miles.  The agile, 3-wheeled vehicle travels in bike lanes as well as vehicle lanes, helping it manage traffic in a seamless, accident-free manner.  At the moment, REV-1 is delivering food from restaurants to company workers yet the service will likely be rolled out to the masses sooner rather than later.

A separate autonomous delivery vehicle, dubbed the Nuro R1, hits a top speed of 25 miles per hour.  The R1 can be used to deliver items to and from the local dry cleaners to dropping off boxes from e-tailers and beyond.  However, Nuro mandates the customer be home at the time of delivery and walk out to the vehicle to pick up the package.  In other words, the world is about to change quite dramatically in the years ahead.  The only question is how quickly the bulk of human driving jobs will dissapear and whether we have the social/economic programs in place to help those displaced workers make ends meet.

New Jersey’s Best Personal Injury Attorneys are Here to Help

If you are injured by a truck or any other vehicle and another person or party is even partially responsible for the incident, you deserve top-notch legal representation.  Our personal injury attorneys led by Richard Schibell are here to fiercely advocate on your behalf to win the compensation you need and deserve.  Contact Schibell & Mennie at 732-774-1000 to learn more about our legal services and schedule an initial consultation.

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