How long will it take for driverless trucks, buses taxis and cars. to become the norm (50%?) If less than ten years, now must be the time for urgent re-assessment of career and qualifications.
In Britain on our overcrowded roads and constantly increasing population? bloody decades at least, quite likely never once error 404 pops up on unaccompanied trials and the lorry buggers off on its own wreaking havoc.
Even if you’re 21 now you will still be at the wheel of a lorry if you want to be right up till aged 80, which will be the retirement age by then unless they bring in the ultimate solution.
Volvo, Scania & one of the others, forget which 
, have said they won’t trial on Uk roads this year after saying they would. Ostensibly because their trial vehicles are all left hand drive.
Has anybody invented a robot to strap the load correctly?
Massive tail backs on M25 as a result of driverless truck making a sudden ‘U’ turn.
Wildy:
Has anybody invented a robot to strap the load correctly?
That’s the key. If you do parcel hub work or supermarket trunking maybe be a little worried that it might not last the next 60yrs. The rest of us can chill.
How does the jobsworth at the RDC explain that it is late and will not be tipped.
Not just transport and logistics, robotics could affect a enormous amount of industries. I really think it’s a massive problem on the horizon.
People think the next big mankind problem will be a food v population crisis that’s predicted for 2050. I think technology will solve this.
I think the next big problem facing mankind is what humans do with no work to go to.
merc0447:
Not just transport and logistics, robotics could affect a enormous amount of industries. I really think it’s a massive problem on the horizon.People think the next big mankind problem will be a food v population crisis that’s predicted for 2050. I think technology will solve this.
I think the next big problem facing mankind is what humans do with no work to go to.
Years ago we were told that computers would reduce our workload and we would have loads of leisure time. Today we never seem to have enough time to fit everything in so where did all this time disappear to?
Computers have reduced our employment and increased our off-duty computer time. 
Optimum:
How long will it take for driverless trucks, buses taxis and cars. to become the norm (50%?) If less than ten years, now must be the time for urgent re-assessment of career and qualifications.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. They’ll introduce them once the process of natural selection takes it’s course and removes 90% of the morons from our roads. Until that happen’s, it’s as you were driver.
from everything I’ve read about Autonomous trucks, it won’t do away with the driver, for the near furture at least.
Even Uber who recently completed the first commercial delivery of goods with an autonomous truck, still required a driver to get to to and from depots and the motorway and they admit that the technology can’t cope with the many variable found in urban driving.
They think that the trucks will be used in the near future, but with drivers meeting them at special holding areas and taking over control for the first and last leg of the journey, But this is in the US with its large open Interstates, not Britains overcrowded motorway network.
I’m sure there will be some kind of autonomous trucks running in Europe, but how much of the journey will be done by the computer and how much by the driver is open to debate.
Not that far away imo. The term driver will be replaced with operative as the truck will still need supervision and loading/unloading ect will still need human input to balls it up…
muckles:
from everything I’ve read about Autonomous trucks, it won’t do away with the driver, for the near furture at least.Even Uber who recently completed the first commercial delivery of goods with an autonomous truck, still required a driver to get to to and from depots and the motorway and they admit that the technology can’t cope with the many variable found in urban driving.
They think that the trucks will be used in the near future, but with drivers meeting them at special holding areas and taking over control for the first and last leg of the journey, But this is in the US with its large open Interstates, not Britains overcrowded motorway network.
I’m sure there will be some kind of autonomous trucks running in Europe, but how much of the journey will be done by the computer and how much by the driver is open to debate.
Good comments there. The amount of investment that would be required to accommodate autonomous trucks in the UK would be too high. There would be no profitable returns.
Big Joe105:
muckles:
from everything I’ve read about Autonomous trucks, it won’t do away with the driver, for the near furture at least.Even Uber who recently completed the first commercial delivery of goods with an autonomous truck, still required a driver to get to to and from depots and the motorway and they admit that the technology can’t cope with the many variable found in urban driving.
They think that the trucks will be used in the near future, but with drivers meeting them at special holding areas and taking over control for the first and last leg of the journey, But this is in the US with its large open Interstates, not Britains overcrowded motorway network.
I’m sure there will be some kind of autonomous trucks running in Europe, but how much of the journey will be done by the computer and how much by the driver is open to debate.Good comments there. The amount of investment that would be required to accommodate autonomous trucks in the UK would be too high. There would be no profitable returns.
I’m sure we’ll see some sort of autonomous truck working in the uk, but maybe not operating in the way uber see it, with holding areas on the motorway network where driver collect and deliver truck for an onward journey.
Juddian:
In Britain on our overcrowded roads and constantly increasing population? bloody decades at least, quite likely never once error 404 pops up on unaccompanied trials and the lorry buggers off on its own wreaking havoc.Even if you’re 21 now you will still be at the wheel of a lorry if you want to be right up till aged 80, which will be the retirement age by then unless they bring in the ultimate solution.
You are obviously well behind with the latest technology as well as a few others.Check it out online.It’s all there to read in black and white and it will happen soon, maybe not quite as soon as they say but big changes in the next coming ten years.
" big changes in the next ten years "
Yep. Wages might go up by 2%. Driverless trucks?? Not in our lifetime fella.
eagerbeaver:
" big changes in the next ten years "Yep. Wages might go up by 2%. Driverless trucks?? Not in our lifetime fella.
I don’t think the likes of Google, Tesla, Bosch, Scania, Volvo, Mercedez-Benz etc etc etc would be spending trillions of pounds or have hundreds of thousands of people working on autonomous vehicle projects just to fill up a bit of time on the odd quiet Tuesday afternoon.
Yep Harry you are quite correct.The current rate technology is moving is frightening.
Eager Beaver would love to hear what you have to say in ten years time. If you think a lot
has happened in the last ten years just wait for the next ten.Not saying it will all be good for
everyone but things are gonna happen whether we like it or not.
Harry Monk:
eagerbeaver:
" big changes in the next ten years "Yep. Wages might go up by 2%. Driverless trucks?? Not in our lifetime fella.
I don’t think the likes of Google, Tesla, Bosch, Scania, Volvo, Mercedez-Benz etc etc etc would be spending trillions of pounds or have hundreds of thousands of people working on autonomous vehicle projects just to fill up a bit of time on the odd quiet Tuesday afternoon.
Technology is easy compared to the insurance/liability issues that need to be resolved.
I can see it in Europe/USA but not here as is to crowded.
I think the bigger issue will be in 20/30 years where there are so few jobs that people riot as they have nothing left to lose