- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
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Just so everyone know how much of a blue-collar employment apocalypse this would be: “trucker” is the number one job title in most US states, and literally the last decent paying job you can get without a degree in most of them.
Automating it away–without a transition plan because fuck the poor–will devastate most of the Midwest and the South, as well as much of Canada.
If you think you have a problem with angry disenfranchised men now, just wait.
Would be cool if they could direct their anger towards the responsible parties this time. Unfortunately I’m sure it will somehow be “illegals are driving all our trucking routes.”
This is why I’m so pro basic income.
Giving people their basic needs met (food, home, safety).
Right now, the angriest folk are suffering and pointing the finger at the rest of the disenfranchised.
I don’t know if having their needs met would make them immune to brainwashing from Fox, though. Many of the insurrectionists had jobs that paid them enough to be comfortable and they still attacked the capitol.
Think of all the businesses that rely on truckers. Truck stops, motels, even some restaurants. Automating trucking hurts a lot more than just truckers.
Work in transport. We have a severe lack of truck drivers in the US and a severe need. A few years ago the Prez of Texas Trucking Association stated he’s encouraging his son not to go into the biz because of the tough work requirements. He is very clear that trying to hire new drivers is hard. The industry acknowledges connected vehicles with semi autonomous trailers and trucks can support the dire need to move product. In certain circumstances autonomous driving can be useful and reasonably safe. Highways are usually well lit, well marked and well signed. This all helps improve autonomous vehicle safety.
literally the last decent paying job you can get without a degree in most of them.
Relatively decent paying. Most truckers are still contractors with the company they ship for, so they’re paying for their own truck and its maintenance, they have few benefits, awful working hours, typically horrid management, and an extremely unhealthy lifestyle because of the nature of the job.
It’s an industry that is incredibly harmful to the people working it. We should automate it away, but it sucks that it’ll come at the cost of people’s livelihoods and at the profit of the few company owners. Same story as ever.
This is how I’ve always felt about automation. Why keep doing the menial, shit jobs that are harmful to people’s health? Why continue wasting time in meaningless repetitive jobs?
Let us get more time back to live our lives, let us share in the production gains brought about by automation. Let us have meaningful lives outside of just our capacity to produce profits for corporations.
Except the ruling class won’t let that happen. We’re still fighting just to work from home for jobs that can be done entirely from home.
Ohh no! Those pesky results of our actions catching up with us!
The south, Midwest, and SW outside of Texas has pretty much done this to themselves. I get that good people are affected here outside their spheres of influence but these states might try education or some shit.
Oh my god can we please just have more trains?
The US and Canada actually make pretty extensive use of freight rail already, more so than Europe.
Yes but we probably use as much as we can given our infrastructure, which is due for an upgrade.
Monkey’s paw: granted, but safety regulations still weakened so you get ~ 5x the derailment and explosions we already do
Teehee whoops I guess
I knew it was Johnny O before I clicked on it and I’m so glad I was right.
Trains make a lot of sense for cargo moving ascoss more than 1-2 provinces/states, and shoukd be the first choice for that.
But for stuff moving only a couple hundred kilometers or less, and to all the places where there aren’t rails, you still need trucks.
That accurately describes the state we’re in today, it is that way (requiring trucks for a significant leg of the “last mile”) due to the incredible amount of subsidizing being done for road maintenance.
Imagine if we were subsidizing rail infrastructure for freight and passenger service.
This highlights an issue with trains. Why are building robot trucks cheaper than getting competition in the rail market?
(Roads are largely free to use and public, versus near monopolies on rail track use.)
Roads go everywhere you want to go, and it’s worth sending a truck for a much smaller load than a train
Roads go anywhere you build them.
Rails go anywhere you build them.
Roads are a lot more flexible though. Tractors also use roads for example. As to bicycles and pedestrians.
Note that the above is about very rural areas where seeing 4 of the above per hour on any stretch is busy. As you start scaling up density it makes sense to separate uses, and trains quickly become the best option for various reasons.
The best option is what Europe has been trying to do by decoupling track ownership from companies running the trains. However, that would likely mean a government takeover of all tracks.
Just do it
It’s weird to me that a company can own a train line which cuts though the country and needs maintenance. Like imagine if they owned roads…
Like imagine if they owned roads…
Oh, that’s been happening in some parts of the world. Well, at least highways.
The vehicles have drawn skepticism from safety advocates, who warn that with almost no federal regulation, it will be mainly up to the companies themselves to determine when the semis are safe enough to operate without humans on board. The critics complain that federal agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, take a generally passive approach to safety, typically acting only after crashes occur. And most states provide scant regulation.
What could go wrong?
I’d be willing to bet you l3 systems, limited to highway miles, have a better track record than humans, especially in long hauls.
Ideally, sure.
Companies: “They’re safe! Trust us! It’s a total coincedence that we have a huge profit motive in
them beingyou thinking they’re safe!”This is somewhat controlled via insurance though. There is a built in financial incentive to reduce insurance without paying billions for the software.
I’m sure it’ll be abused and challenged at some point but this isn’t something I’d lose sleep over IMO.
Regulation will probably get pushed to insurance. Someone has to ensure these trucks in case of accidents, with either the company or an insurer paying out in cases of accidents.
Having truckers lose jobs also may impact truck stops and lot lizard jobs.
I was just thinking, how likely is it that these trucks could be highjacked and the contents stolen with no driver. I would think disabling the truck wouldn’t be too difficult. No people on board so no collateral damage. Sure there will be cameras and sensors to call the police or whatever but an organized team in the middle of the night in a rural area. What would the police response time be? Just a though.
Then it becomes an insurance game. Loss rate vs extra profit by not having to pay a driver or limit the number of hours driving. Same thing is happening with rail theft in SoCal north of Long Beach.
No drivers would cut costs massively you could afford to lose trucks all the time.
If this ever happens a huge population, that’s poorly educated and really doesn’t have any mentionable skills will be thrown into the unemployed books.
It would be a cool heist movie. But it would probably be too easy. Just get in front of the truck and slow down. When it stops disconnect the trailer.
I’m pretty hopeful, but it’s all in the insurance/liability.
With truck routes, you’re only going a small number of routes, that you can evaluate ahead of time, so there are very few surprises, plus you generally don’t have to deal with people. It seems like a much more predictable scenario.
However there will be accidents, so the future is in how those are handled. Will the vehicle handle it well or make it worse? Who’s liable? With they take care of the victims at least as well as driver insurance would have? Will the manufacturer or shipper be the “deep pockets” and get sued out of existence?
MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE
