According to the American Trucking Association, there are some 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States alone.
That’s 3.5 million people who may lose their jobs once driverless trucks hit the roads in full force… which appears to be in the not-too-distant future.
Tech Crunch reports that a convoy of these trucks recently drove across Europe and arrived without incident at their destination at the Port of Rotterdam for 75% cheaper than it would have cost had human beings been driving them:
Shipping a full truckload from L.A. to New York costs around $4,500 today, with labor representing 75 percent of that cost. But those labor savings aren’t the only gains to be had from the adoption of driverless trucks…
A large part of the economic efficiency boost will include the fact that driverless trucks never get tired and can drive for 24 hours straight non-stop, whereas humans obviously need to eat, take pee breaks, and sleep. Drivers are restricted by law from driving more than 11 hours a day and are required to take breaks each day. “That means the technology would effectively double the output of the U.S. transportation network at 25 percent of the cost,” Tech Crunch explains.
In addition, truck drivers drive faster because they are paid by the mile and they’re trying to get more done, a situation which throws fuel efficiency out the window in a way that won’t happen with robotrucks which will drive at a steady, set pace the entire trip. There are many ways that robotrucks will enhance the efficiency of the entire trucking industry… but, glaringly, those ways don’t involve humans having jobs.
The list goes on and on but the message is clear: robots and AI are here and millions of people, from factory workers to front desk clerks to truck drivers, are going to have their entire livelihoods yanked away. How are so many people going to be able to put food on the table and pay their rent when there are no jobs for them to get paid to do so?
That’s one percent of the population right there just… unemployed…
Perhaps that’s why law enforcement is training so hard for martial law.
Related Reads
- FIRST ROBOT-RUN HOTEL OPENS IN JAPAN TO SAVE MONEY ON PAYING HUMAN STAFF
- HEY BOSS, THE ROBOTS ARE COMING FOR YOUR JOB TOO
- THIS IS A TIPPING POINT: ROBOTS “CHEAPER THAN ANY HUMAN WORKER” MEANS THE END OF JOBS
- TOP 10 JOBS MOST LIKELY TO BE REPLACED BY ROBOTS
Melissa Dykes is a writer, researcher, and analyst for The Daily Sheeple and a co-creator of Truthstream Media with Aaron Dykes, a site that offers teleprompter-free, unscripted analysis of The Matrix we find ourselves living in. Melissa also co-founded Nutritional Anarchy with Daisy Luther of The Organic Prepper, a site focused on resistance through food self-sufficiency. Wake the flock up!
How do these trucks avoid accidents?
So sorry, safety was not included in the profit calculation. The trucks will be equipped with cow catchers.
By re-defining the word “accident”.
Looks like truckers need to become expert tire snipers.
Gotta go for the front tires…
Front tires blowing out give you control and you are able to stop. Back tires blow out and an auto will weave all over till it crashes violently.
They’re trying to automate humans right out of existence…..
SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!
Driverless vehicles will be programmed to preserve self first in an accident . With hackers & computer malfunctions this will be a nightmare.
Yep, hackers can get TRUCKLOADS of valuable stuff delivered to them every single day!
Terrible sentence of the week: “How are so many people going to be able to put food on the table and pay their rent when there are no jobs for them to get paid to do so?”
But extra points for not writing “they’re rent”.
Automation has been a concern for just over 100-years. Nothing is going to stop it and I’m not sure it should. We would all be living a much more primitive life without it.
Better to adapt and train yourself (as apposed hope that your boss will train you) to do new or different jobs that are not easily automated. And then become self-employed so you are the one in charge of your future and income.
I have a handyman / home repair business. It’s a one-man (most times one-man) business. Pretty much all the things I do are not things you can not get a robot to do. I do good work, am busy (more so then I really want to be) and do not worry about automation or robots at all. Automation or robots are well suited for repetitive and simple task that don’t need on-the-spot-thinking and modification to get the job done. Driving a truck is really a simple thing and will at some point be automated. Remodeling a kitchen (each house is different) will never be automated.
If you worry about your job being automated make plans to do something else that will keep giving you an income. And do it, not just read about it.
As with all things in life, action (as in doing it) cures almost all problems so take action to secure your future.
As far as the trucks being automated, it’s likely 10-years off as the automated trucks will need an infrastructure to work and it’s not there yet. Add in the political debates over it and 10-years may be overly optimistic.
These aoutomated trucks will be so cost prohibitive, and such a high liability, that CDL drivers have nothing to worry about. Also, truck drivers don’t just drive. They put pallets in and out, clean the truck, and move product. Are the companies going to buy robots to do all that work? Of course not.
(These aoutomated trucks will be so cost prohibitive)
Upfront cost will be high, but according to the article there is a 75% savings in cost because of labor.
And don’t forget the cost of retirement for drivers.
No the automated trucks will be a BIG cost savings when they finally do get put into use.
Q: Will those savings be passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices?
A: No.
Q” Will the risks of this new, potentially deadly drone technology be passed on to all drivers and pedestrians?
A: Yes.
It’ll be passed on in the elite eliminating more useless eaters.
Ok well then have them ride shotty with the automated truck driving. They can unload and process; although im sure machines can do that also.
Someone really would have to ride in the cab to make sure everything went ok. But then, what is the point of having it automated if someone has to be there anyway?
If consumers continue to be replace by automation at this rate, what will the trucks be needed for?
Only one question, Who’s going to refuel them? If the truck is going cross country it’s got to stop at a gas station to refuel.