The Disadvantage Of Autonomous Trucks
Key Takeaways:
- •Loss of driver job security concerns
- •More accidents
- •Unregulated industry
- •Computer malfunctions
- •Expensive
- •Licensing infrastructure not yet in working phase
- •Privacy concerns
- •Forgetting the basics
- •Emergency tackling
It’s getting real, where the age of autonomous vehicles has nearly arrived, and human truckers are coming to an end phase. Autonomous trucks are a cost-saving strategy that companies use to increase productivity with reduced costs. But the fact is these autonomous trucks are comparatively high priced and require a good amount of investment. Even after autonomous driverless vehicles are being discussed as the future of ground delivery, they come with a series of risks that need to be foreseen and appropriately met. Here are some of the cons or disadvantages of using an autonomous truck for your delivery:
Loss of driver jobs
Driving a truck requires a good amount of skill and expertise. The truck drivers of today are the world’s most experienced batch of drivers you can see. Once the autonomous trucks come in place of human truckers, many of these drivers who have been operating the trucks for decades will lose their job. Though the young generation truck drivers are ready to work 24/7 up and down, the skill and experience in operating a truck are still missing in these new generation drivers.
Security concerns
As autonomous trucks operate on software, it is easy for hackers to hack the software and create vulnerabilities for the delivery, like overriding the controls. Even if an autonomous truck has a person inside the vehicle supervising things, the software hacking cannot be identified by a driver alone.
More accidents
The current national and state highways aren’t yet optimized for self-driving cars. Driving is an unpredictable job where anything can happen at any time – like a tree falling onto the road, a cat crossing the street, or any other vehicle taking the wrong direction. Hence, the chances of accidents are high. Even if a driverless truck is powered by software, you cannot code any unforeseen odd situations. Good tires are also reasons behind more accidents, One should always read tire reviews before buying them.
Unregulated industry
Although the numbers aren’t accurate, almost 100 truck companies are jumping into the self-driving truck space. This can create a considerable regulation standard in the trucking industry, which needs to be mandatorily followed and formulated by the government authorities.
Computer malfunctions
Most driverless trucks are made of 30 to 100 computers. A lot of technology and sophistication is involved in the processing and operation of self-driving trucks that can go wrong with a minute error in the coding or computer breakdown. Also, the biggest problem is to create a quick fix for malfunctioned computers, which occurs while on track.
Expensive
Autonomous trucks are so exciting with its power-pact technology, and this technology is astronomically an expensive deal. The general trend is that technology grows cheaper as long as it is available in plenty. That said, self-driving cars will eventually become something that anyone can afford when it is available in plenty.
Licensing infrastructure not yet in working phase
Autonomous trucks create a significant challenge for state and federal licensing infrastructure. Though the companies claim the self-driving trucks to be safe, it is up to the public institutions to keep the drivers safe.
Privacy concerns
Even though the new technological achievements in the trucking industry can make our lives much simpler, it can also put the driver at a high risk of privacy leakage. That said, privacy is one concern that affects most of the trucking companies that implement autonomous trucks. As a self-driving truck works on software and computer, the data relating to the driver, truck, and asset can be easily tracked by the fleet company unless it is installed from a reliable and trustworthy company like Matrack.
Forgetting the basics
No matter how much innovation comes in the driving industry, there’s still a major share of people (drivers) who believe these robotic driving can wipe out the basics of driving from the market. As more and more fleet companies depend on autonomous trucks, the demand for an expert driver comes to an end, which can adversely affect the truck driving sector. The budding drivers will forget the basics which can wash out the truck driving industry as a whole.
Emergency tackling
Humans are good at tackling any unforeseen crisis or issue, especially in the driving industry. Truck drivers are well known for their exceptional presence of mind to address any emergency crisis that comes their way while on wheels. But an autonomous truck cannot assure the same kind of handling the situation, especially when there is something unusual than the routine. For instance, if there is a route diversion due to any natural calamities or other odd crisis, an individual trucker can redirect through any other shortcuts or alternate routes to reach the destination. But this is not possible with a software-enabled autonomous truck.
Inference:
Other drawbacks include the technology itself and the legal issues around insurance and legal liability for accidents. There are so many aspects and views to be considered while implementing an autonomous truck for asset delivery. And these unresolved issues may take some time to sort out. Till then, the drivers can enjoy trucking the load and assets.
Meanwhile, companies are now increasing the urge to install GPS tracking solutions to monitor the truck, driver, and the fleet effectively. Moving on to a step further, the fleet companies have also mandatorily urged for electronic logging devices for truckers to comply with the company working hours and schedule. Be it an asset tracking solution or an electronic logging device, buying from the right company matters as it is concerned with privacy issues.
Thanks to the reliable GPS tracking solutions and ELD from Matrack, that you no longer have to worry about the privacy and software hacks. With satisfied customers, Matrack keeps delivering its promise of quality GPS trackers to monitor the asset, truck, and fleet. This way, both the customer and the fleet companies are benefitted and satisfied with Matrack Solutions.