Self-Driving Semi Is King Of The Road - Forbes

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Officially, it's considered a "level 3" autonomous vehicle, meaning it enables hands-off highway driving under certain circumstances, but requires a driver to be present, ready to take the helm in an emergency or to pass other vehicles in the truck's path (something it apparently won't do on its own).
The Freightliner Inspiration Truck is the first autonomous driving vehicle to be licensed in Nevada.

Self-Driving Semi Is King Of The Road - Forbes


Joe Mobley
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Amazing but I still want to be in control of the vehicle I'm in. I would be bored just sitting in a car that drives itself and I still don't trust the technology.
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  • Profile picture of the author BigFrank
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    Originally Posted by Joe Mobley View Post

    The Freightliner Inspiration Truck is the first autonomous driving vehicle to be licensed in Nevada. - Joe Mobley
    That is one seriously, beautiful truck.

    Cheers, - Frank
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    • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
      Originally Posted by BigFrank View Post

      That is one seriously, beautiful truck.

      Cheers, - Frank
      You know it's made by Apple and you know you want one. :-)
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      • Profile picture of the author BigFrank
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        Originally Posted by lanfear63 View Post

        You know it's made by Apple and you know you want one. :-)
        Yes, it is so beautiful you would think it was built by Apple and yes - I'll take one. :-)

        Cheers. - Frank
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
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    I predicted this a year ago (self driving semi trucks).

    Give them another 10 years or less of haggling with US Gov. to pass laws for all 50 state interstate self driving vehicles & truck drivers will all be local drivers making minimum wage.

    The only way to make decent money driving trucks is long haul driving since they get paid per mile.

    Bye bye trucks, hello McDonald wages...
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    • Profile picture of the author BigFrank
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      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      I predicted this a year ago (self driving semi trucks).
      Did you check with SEASONED? I'm pretty sure he predicted it at least 5 years, ago.

      Cheers. - Frank
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      • Profile picture of the author yukon
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        Originally Posted by BigFrank View Post

        Did you check with SEASONED? I'm pretty sure he predicted it at least 5 years, ago.

        Cheers. - Frank
        I predicted you would say that.

        No joke, watch & see how these new trucks change an entire industry in a few years.

        You can bet BIG corporations are drooling over this technology because it eliminates so much cost like driver wages, insurance, retirement, training, recruiting.

        They'll also have all the reduced cost of the truck. Truck cabs won't even be needed which no doubt is thousands in expenses when buying a new truck times entire fleets per each trucking business.

        The only thing that might be expensive is software, all the hardware is cheap (computer, cameras, proximity sensors, etc...). Still, the reduced cost of removing driver controls (entire cab) would see some cost savings & offset the price of the software/hardware.

        Whoever owns the software to drive these trucks will control an entire industry once they have standards set & things settle down.

        If anyone thinks this isn't a BIG deal & going to kill millions of jobs they're in for a surprise.

        Driving a truck has been immune to two of the biggest trends affecting U.S. jobs: globalization and automation. A worker in China can't drive a truck in Ohio, and machines can't drive cars (yet).

        Bwahaha... good luck with that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    As a former cab driver with over 1 million city miles driven, I trust technology more than people when it comes to driving. Of course, we need to make sure the tech works, but I don't have a lot of confidence in human drivers.


    On a side note, truck drivers make up the largest segment of employment according to a recent report I read. If/when there are self-driving trucks in the future, it will be interesting to see what happens to that work force.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
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      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      As a former cab driver with over 1 million city miles driven, I trust technology more than people when it comes to driving. Of course, we need to make sure the tech works, but I don't have a lot of confidence in human drivers.


      On a side note, truck drivers make up the largest segment of employment according to a recent report I read. If/when there are self-driving trucks in the future, it will be interesting to see what happens to that work force.
      Geez, that's a lot of stop lights.

      I drove a semi years ago for about a year but it was mostly interstate miles. Horrible job (never home) but I know a lot of drivers depend on the money (for now).

      Cab drivers will also be phased out considering Uber & Google are currently battling to dominate that niche.

      Once this automated trucking goes all out it won't be just drivers losing jobs because there's thousands/millions of people that support those drivers. If drivers are at home collecting unemployment, all those people that once supported drivers will also be on unemployment.

      Chain reaction of unemployment...

      The problem is technology changes faster than jobs/industries. Something like the truck driving industry has been around for 100+ years, while this automated trucking technology could happen in just a few years once BIG corporations get a taste of the money savings.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ron Lafuddy
        The idea of driver-less trucks sounds good
        until you consider mechanical breakdowns.
        They tend to happen suddenly, with little
        warning.

        Trailer tire fires are fairly common.
        Gotta know what to do, to save the
        equipment.

        Tractor tires come apart occasionally
        and break things, like hydraulic lines
        and other tires.

        Had a leaking oil line on a 3 month old
        tractor start a fire. I had just seconds
        to get it off the road and get out, before
        it engulfed the cab

        They'll need to work out the breakdown
        problems that are common to semi trucks
        before driver-less technology becomes safe
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        • Profile picture of the author yukon
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          Originally Posted by Ron Lafuddy View Post

          The idea of driver-less trucks sounds good
          until you consider mechanical breakdowns.
          They tend to happen suddenly, with little
          warning.

          Trailer tire fires are fairly common.
          Gotta know what to do, to save the
          equipment.

          Tractor tires come apart occasionally
          and break things, like hydraulic lines
          and other tires.

          Had a leaking oil line on a 3 month old
          tractor start a fire. I had just seconds
          to get it off the road and get out, before
          it engulfed the cab

          They'll need to work out the breakdown
          problems that are common to semi trucks
          before driver-less technology becomes safe
          It's probably not too difficult to constantly check the temperature of each tire while rolling down the highway considering most new cars constantly monitor tire pressure.

          Besides, cabs will be obsolete, lol.
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          • Profile picture of the author Kurt
            Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

            As a former cab driver with over 1 million city miles driven, I trust technology more than people when it comes to driving. Of course, we need to make sure the tech works, but I don't have a lot of confidence in human drivers.
            .
            Originally Posted by yukon View Post

            Geez, that's a lot of stop lights.

            For the sake of accuracy, my math was off. It's more like 350,000. Not sure where I got a million?


            I drove a semi years ago for about a year but it was mostly interstate miles. Horrible job (never home) but I know a lot of drivers depend on the money (for now).

            Cab drivers will also be phased out considering Uber & Google are currently battling to dominate that niche.

            Once this automated trucking goes all out it won't be just drivers losing jobs because there's thousands/millions of people that support those drivers. If drivers are at home collecting unemployment, all those people that once supported drivers will also be on unemployment.

            Chain reaction of unemployment...

            The problem is technology changes faster than jobs/industries. Something like the truck driving industry has been around for 100+ years, while this automated trucking technology could happen in just a few years once BIG corporations get a taste of the money savings.
            Yep, I posted before that cab drivers will likely be obsolete in the future, as well as bus drivers and limo drivers, and probably many delivery driver jobs.
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          • Profile picture of the author Ron Lafuddy
            Originally Posted by yukon View Post

            It's probably not too difficult to constantly check the temperature of each tire while rolling down the highway considering most new cars constantly monitor tire pressure.

            Besides, cabs will be obsolete, lol.
            Then why haven't they done it? Why isn't that equipment available right now? Today?

            Seems they haven't solved the problem yet. Got a long ways to go before
            driver-less technology is safe for trucks.
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        • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Ron Lafuddy View Post

          The idea of driver-less trucks sounds good
          until you consider mechanical breakdowns.
          They tend to happen suddenly, with little
          warning.

          Trailer tire fires are fairly common.
          Gotta know what to do, to save the
          equipment.

          Tractor tires come apart occasionally
          and break things, like hydraulic lines
          and other tires.

          Had a leaking oil line on a 3 month old
          tractor start a fire. I had just seconds
          to get it off the road and get out, before
          it engulfed the cab

          They'll need to work out the breakdown
          problems that are common to semi trucks
          before driver-less technology becomes safe

          Well, it isn't really driverless technology at all. They need a driver for emergencies, a driver to pass other vehicles, a driver for in-town driving and a driver to pull up to the loading dock, all of which this truck can't do. Driver jobs aren't going to disappear. They will merely change somewhat for the few companies who can afford a fleet of those probably incredibly expensive machines.
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          • Profile picture of the author yukon
            Banned
            Originally Posted by Ron Lafuddy View Post

            Then why haven't they done it? Why isn't that equipment available right now? Today?

            Seems they haven't solved the problem yet. Got a long ways to go before
            driver-less technology is safe for trucks.
            The main reason is automated cars can't drive on federal highways/interstates in the US, it's the law.

            The self driving vehicle technology has existed for a few years. DARPA has held contest for both automated vehicles that drove off-road (142 miles) & urban settings.



            It's not perfect but neither is a human driving a car.

            [source]
            On average in 2012, 92 people were killed on the roadways of the U.S. each day in 30,800 fatal crashes.





            In the video below (2:48), notice how sensitive the sensors are, the black SUV slams on the brakes to avoid running over a piece of paper blowing around on the ground.

            Also, keep in mind the video is from a 2007 challenge (8 years ago), technology changes fast.













            Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

            Well, it isn't really driverless technology at all.
            Give it a few years and a few nudges to Gov., long haul trucks will eventually be automated without drivers.
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  • Profile picture of the author WalkingCarpet
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    Nice, till it runs over some kid on the road.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
      Originally Posted by WalkingCarpet View Post

      Nice, till it runs over some kid on the road.
      Sure, but this happens with human drivers, too.

      My guess is that it will happen less with automated vehicles, but that still doesn't help the people who get killed.

      Can't wait to see what the lawsuits look like.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    And before a battery system and electrical starter were invented, people would often get broken arms trying to hand-crank their car to start. Then, we came up with better teach.


    Until the about the 1950s, cars had no seat belts or air bags, they had metal dash boards and glass that would break into sharp razor-like shards. Then we got better tech.


    The average human reaction time is something like .7 seconds. A computer is a million times faster. And I doubt two computers will ever pull over and confront each other in a fit of road rage.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      A computer is a million times faster. And I doubt two computers will ever pull over and confront each other in a fit of road rage.
      But you must admit, that would be amusing.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
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      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      Until the about the 1950s, cars had no seat belts or air bags, they had metal dash boards and glass that would break into sharp razor-like shards. Then we got better tech.
      They didn't even start passing laws to actually use seat belts until the mid 1980s.

      [source]
      New York was the first state to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts, a law that came into effect on December 1, 1984.
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