Yet many may not even know when or if a driverless vehicle is in their midst, as several companies are already running tests in California, Colorado, Florida, Mich-igan, and Nevada according to the Wall Street Journal.
Automated Delivery
Otto, an Uber Technologies, Inc.-owned company, claims to have delivered the first ever shipment by a self-driving truck in October of last year. While the “driver” sat in the back seat, this truck negotiated Interstate 25 from Fort Collins, CO through Denver to Colorado Springs. At one point, the vehicle’s “driver” remarked he couldn’t have done a better job himself.
A self-driving trucking startup, Embark, has gotten state approval to conduct trials of its vehicles in Nevada, while a few other companies—including Starsky Robotics and Drive.ai Inc. have also joined the fray.
Of course, programming autonomous technology when the truck navigates highways is much easier than making it work for local roads. But advocates say these vehicles, whether cars or trucks, will be able to avoid accidents, reduce congestion, and in the short term make the job of driving more enjoyable.
“I don’t see highly-automated trucks on the road in significant numbers for at least 10 years,” comments Cammisa. “The more a human drives, the more he/she learns from the experience. It’s the same for automated trucks; the more miles they cover, the better the software algorithms.” Even in the next decade, he predicts, autonomous trucks will still need a driver to get on and off the highway.
“In my opinion there will always be a driver in the cab,” states Ed Treacy, vice president of supply chain efficiencies for the Delaware-based Produce Marketing Association. And even though this person may be on the passenger side, taking care of paperwork, resting, and not using hours of service time, it could still revolutionize the shipping industry.
The Driver Crisis
While most have become aware of the driver shortage, the American Trucking Associations says the crisis is not new and has been going on for the last 15 years. What may surprise many is just how critical the crisis is: current estimates put the shortfall of qualified drivers needed to fulfill demand by 2024 at an astonishing 175,000.
“Produce is always the first industry affected by driver shortages, because of the responsibilities we put on our drivers compared to those hauling other commodities,” says Treacy. “They’re responsible for their hours on the road, tight delivery windows, and the temperature inside the trailer to maintain the quality of the product. To attract these drivers, we have to pay them higher rates than other drivers.”
