As technologies continue to improve driving is getting safer and crashes are becoming more survivable. Car and truck manufacturers are looking at new automation technologies to increase convenience and comfort on the roads. With the new advances in technology, the concept of self-driving cars and trucks is becoming more and more realistic every day.
One such automation technology is platooning. It is a system that synchronizes the speed and braking of two or more trucks travelling together. This allows the trailing trucks to safely tailgate and increase their fuel efficiency by decreasing wind resistance.
There’s plenty of trucking jobs in the near term but not enough workers to fill them. Automation can help plug the gap, creating yet another economic incentive for the industry to push self-driving technology that can increase productivity and safety.
Multiple studies show that introducing autonomous trucks even before they are perfected could save thousands of lives each year. After each crash, the entire software would be adjusted, gradually perfecting the safety of robot vehicles. Especially under Canadian winter road conditions, it is certain that robot trucks will kill fewer people. The autonomous vehicles will be programmed to park and wait when conditions are in danger of becoming unsafe, whereas humans have a habit of driving beyond their ability to do it safely.
The truth is we are facing a technological transition where we don’t know the time frame or what it will do to the marketplace. This will all sort out in the decade leading up to 2030. Automation will happen sooner or later and the impacts of this technology will be profound.
Source: CBC News, medium.com
