4 ms·

Funny, indeed! They supposedly had employees entering stuff into spreadsheets by hand. I recall that this was due to there being so many edge-cases, which made

Funny, indeed! They supposedly had employees entering stuff into spreadsheets by hand. I recall that this was due to there being so many edge-cases, which made it difficult to automate processes. The bigger problem I think with freight ever moving to self-driving is the legal liabilities involved. Consequences of even minor accidents are amplified with the size+mass involved. We might see a hybrid system with auto-pilot doing the majority of the driving similar to how we currently fly planes, but I can't imagine how that would markedly improve the economic margins.

ghaff 9y ago
>We might see a hybrid system with auto-pilot doing the majority of the driving similar to how we currently fly planes, That seems a very plausible scenario. Improves safety (which is a big plus!) but doesn't really do much for the financials overall.
- kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
  One manned cab in a convoy with one or more self-drivers following does make for more enticing financials. You still have someone on hand to deal with paperwork, tire inspections, breakdowns, etc. with lower labor costs overall.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    Potentially. But then you have to transfer drivers to the depots where they will pick up the other cabs in the convoy. The financials may work. We'll see. FWIW, driver cost seems to be about 1/3 the operational cost of trucking today. And about 21% of trucking is over 1,000 miles. [1] So that 21% is probably your target. [1] http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-Operational-Costs-of-Trucking-2014-FINAL.pdf http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-O...
  - ithinkinstereo 9y ago
    Driving in a convoy doesn't really solve the legal liability issue. How would the human driver presumably avoid accidents towards the back of the convoy for example? You'd have to have multiple drivers spaced out thru the convoy. The main issue is having good safety controls for all the various edge cases you might have out on the open road.

ghaff 9y ago

>We might see a hybrid system with auto-pilot doing the majority of the driving similar to how we currently fly planes, That seems a very plausible scenario. Improves safety (which is a big plus!) but doesn't really do much for the financials overall.

kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
One manned cab in a convoy with one or more self-drivers following does make for more enticing financials. You still have someone on hand to deal with paperwork, tire inspections, breakdowns, etc. with lower labor costs overall.
- ghaff 9y ago
  Potentially. But then you have to transfer drivers to the depots where they will pick up the other cabs in the convoy. The financials may work. We'll see. FWIW, driver cost seems to be about 1/3 the operational cost of trucking today. And about 21% of trucking is over 1,000 miles. [1] So that 21% is probably your target. [1] http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-Operational-Costs-of-Trucking-2014-FINAL.pdf http://www.atri-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ATRI-O...
- ithinkinstereo 9y ago
  Driving in a convoy doesn't really solve the legal liability issue. How would the human driver presumably avoid accidents towards the back of the convoy for example? You'd have to have multiple drivers spaced out thru the convoy. The main issue is having good safety controls for all the various edge cases you might have out on the open road.