Driverless Trucks: Delight or Disaster?

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When thinking about automation in our lives today, my mind immediately drifts towards the robots at the Amazon warehouses or Tesla cars. However, a lesser-known aspect of automation is the burgeoning industry of self-driving trucks. With nearly $700 billion of goods shipped by truck yearly in the US, the trucking industry is vital not only to the country, but to the multitude of truckers driving these trucks. This begs the question: To what extent will the trucking industry’s shift to automation be either healthy or disruptive?

This VICE News video explores first-hand the experience in a self-driving truck; and surprisingly, the truck responds smoothly to heavy traffic. Real truck drivers in the video mentioned their disbelief upon hearing about a fully automated, loaded truck and questioned the ethics of placing your trust in a machine.

These self-driving truck companies have the mindset of utilizing their vehicles as a means to fill a shortage in the trucking industry, but this makes me wonder if this will be taken further to automate most of the trucking operations in the industry. If so, the US would be faced with a massive unemployment issue, as some truckers can’t envision a life without their job. Furthermore, it seems that self-driving trucks have zero margin for error, as any issue with its functionality would lead to massive scrutiny. One large crash could spell doom for the automated truck industry.

Self-driving trucks face tough hurdles. But with the technology-driven society that we live in today, there is much to be optimistic about them. These trucks can lead to safer, more efficient, and much cheaper alternatives for transportation and can create a new realm of the trucking industry that both companies and consumers can benefit from.