Self driving truck for cargo delivery

Self-driving cars are ubiquitous in the news lately, though you don’t hear enough about the future of self-driving trucks. It’s not that it’s not happening, because we’re seeing a lot of experiments with them now.

One of the most recent tests is through Daimler and a semi-autonomous freight truck. This new truck is on a fast-track to compete with Google in getting cars and trucks on the road without drivers.

The question is, will this truly affect cargo delivery truck driver jobs? As a subject worthy of debate, it’s worth exploring the impact.

How Soon Will We See Self-Driving Trucks On Our Highways?

Daimler above already has their self-driving truck on the highways of Nevada. Since then, other trucking companies have begun to experiment doing the same thing. Company names like Otto, Volvo, and Peterbilt have joined Daimler in creating self-driving trucks across our nation’s highways.

You’re seeing a push to get these out there because of the economic benefits compared to ordinary self-driving cars. Considering many of them have far more efficiency in how they operate and in stopping for fuel, the argument is how they’re going to complement cargo delivery trucker jobs.

Will Self-Driving Trucks Help or Hurt Cargo Delivery Drivers?

One problem not usually addressed is the shortage of truck drivers out there. Reports are the industry is short over 40,000 drivers as of 2015. This shortage has expectation to grow exponentially into the next decade.

With this in mind, self-driving trucks for cargo delivery could help many existing drivers under pressure to keep up their duties. So many truckers already suffer from sleep deprivation due to long driving hours.

A self-driving truck can alleviate these pressures of truckers while merely adding to their jobs rather than take them away.

It’s worth thinking about, despite self-driving trucks being a certainty on all our roads within the next two years.

 

Visit us at Logistiqins.com to use our resources for risk management consulting services for the freight broker industry.