3 ms·

Everyone talks about passenger vehicles as the killer market for self driving cars, but it isn't. One of my friends is a Paramedic and he told me the overwhelmi

by SEJeff 12y ago

Everyone talks about passenger vehicles as the killer market for self driving cars, but it isn't. One of my friends is a Paramedic and he told me the overwhelming majority of traffic fatalities he sees are a result of big rig truck drivers falling asleep. It would suck to put a whole industry of workers out of a job, but if you could reliably and cheaply transport large amounts of cargo with a self driving vehicle which never slept, that is pretty amazing. It would certainly up the profit of the distributors moving tons upon tons of cargo around the world every day.

datasage 12y ago
I think this is where we will see strong adoption first. Although it will probably not do much to increase profits as its a commoditized industry, but it will bring prices down for those who use it.
mercer 12y ago
You're probably right. If I understand correctly, they recently passed laws that make it easier to test self-driving vehicles in Holland, and one of the first experiments will be 'convoys' of self-driving trucks.
- Someone 12y ago
  http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/technology/dutch-approve-large-scale/1611880.html http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/technology/dutch-approve... The law hasn't passed yet, but apparently, Scania will start testing trucks in February. I am not sure that will be fully autonomous vehicles, though. It may be trucks that can follow a lead truck driven by humans.
greenyoda 12y ago
I suspect that citizens and regulators are going to be scared of unleashing autonomous 18-wheelers on the roads until autonomous cars have been around for several years and they're confident that the bugs have been worked out. The consequences of a fully-loaded semi - 40 tons - going out of control and hitting something are much more serious than a car hitting something. They also take more distance to stop, have a much wider turning radius than a car, and are prone to mishaps like jack-knifing that don't affect cars. Also, lots of trucks carry flammable or toxic materials: gasoline, heating/diesel oil, propane, pesticides, etc. These will probably be required to have human drivers for a long time to come.

by SEJeff 12y ago

datasage 12y ago

I think this is where we will see strong adoption first. Although it will probably not do much to increase profits as its a commoditized industry, but it will bring prices down for those who use it.

mercer 12y ago

You're probably right. If I understand correctly, they recently passed laws that make it easier to test self-driving vehicles in Holland, and one of the first experiments will be 'convoys' of self-driving trucks.

Someone 12y ago
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/technology/dutch-approve-large-scale/1611880.html http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/technology/dutch-approve... The law hasn't passed yet, but apparently, Scania will start testing trucks in February. I am not sure that will be fully autonomous vehicles, though. It may be trucks that can follow a lead truck driven by humans.

greenyoda 12y ago

I suspect that citizens and regulators are going to be scared of unleashing autonomous 18-wheelers on the roads until autonomous cars have been around for several years and they're confident that the bugs have been worked out. The consequences of a fully-loaded semi - 40 tons - going out of control and hitting something are much more serious than a car hitting something. They also take more distance to stop, have a much wider turning radius than a car, and are prone to mishaps like jack-knifing that don't affect cars. Also, lots of trucks carry flammable or toxic materials: gasoline, heating/diesel oil, propane, pesticides, etc. These will probably be required to have human drivers for a long time to come.