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These concerns are unlikely to surface in ways that are important enough to overcome the advantages of automated long-haul trucking. Network coverage? On most

These concerns are unlikely to surface in ways that are important enough to overcome the advantages of automated long-haul trucking. Network coverage? On most big interstates it's perfectly fine, even through mountain ranges, and it's known in advance which highways don't have it. But even then, you can just use satellite systems such as Starlink as a backup. Questionable economics for keeping people on-call? No, it's quite economic, because one on-call person can provide coverage for a wide area. Criminals? This is an unserious idea that's always brought up in these discussions. Why not break into containers at ports? Why not break into dry vans stored at the back of warehouses overnight? If the idea is just that criminals will break into unattended cargo vans, there are manifold opportunities to do this already, and the small amounts of property crime isn't a serious issue. Anyway, it's covered by insurance. Conversely, the advantages are numerous: * Much faster cross-country freight. No sleeping, no work-rules, no need for team drivers. * A safety profile that may even be better (no falling asleep). * Lower costs. * Better availability. At times, it is very difficult to schedule a truck to arrive, depending on how tight the market is. It's easier to flex equipment availability up and down than truckers. Many large shippers will see this as an important area to focus on and money is being poured into this today.

throwaway201103 6y ago
Most real cross-country freight (say, from west coast ports to Chicago or other major hub cities) goes by intermodal rail already. There are of course some odd lots that go by truck but most over-the-road trucking is already medium/short range today.
root_axis 6y ago
The problem is that long haul trucking isn't just "most big interstates", the only advantage of long-haul trucking is the logistical flexibility, if you're constrained to "most big interstates" you might as well use a train. The remote on-call strategy doesn't scale, yes it'll save some money relative to drivers, but there's a delicate balancing act involved in mitigating risk of multiple simultaneous failures, yes this might be rare, but it'll also be costly. See my response to wpietri for more about security, but with respect to warehouses and the like, they are frequently staffed by armed guards or dogs, it's also orders of magnitude easier to secure a stationary facility compared to a mobile autonomous vehicle traveling across the country. Insurance will only cover it if they can tolerate the risk. Increased availability is definitely a win, but the other advantages you listed are just alternative ways of saying "lower cost". Yes, the costs are lower, but truck driver salaries aren't that high to begin with and the cost of building out and maintaining automated trucking infrastructure will be passed on to any trucking companies that decide to adopt the technology.

throwaway201103 6y ago

Most real cross-country freight (say, from west coast ports to Chicago or other major hub cities) goes by intermodal rail already. There are of course some odd lots that go by truck but most over-the-road trucking is already medium/short range today.

root_axis 6y ago

The problem is that long haul trucking isn't just "most big interstates", the only advantage of long-haul trucking is the logistical flexibility, if you're constrained to "most big interstates" you might as well use a train. The remote on-call strategy doesn't scale, yes it'll save some money relative to drivers, but there's a delicate balancing act involved in mitigating risk of multiple simultaneous failures, yes this might be rare, but it'll also be costly. See my response to wpietri for more about security, but with respect to warehouses and the like, they are frequently staffed by armed guards or dogs, it's also orders of magnitude easier to secure a stationary facility compared to a mobile autonomous vehicle traveling across the country. Insurance will only cover it if they can tolerate the risk. Increased availability is definitely a win, but the other advantages you listed are just alternative ways of saying "lower cost". Yes, the costs are lower, but truck driver salaries aren't that high to begin with and the cost of building out and maintaining automated trucking infrastructure will be passed on to any trucking companies that decide to adopt the technology.