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Self-Driving Trucks Begin Real-World Tests on Ohio's Highways (cbsnews.com)

An anonymous reader writes: "A vehicle from self-driving truck maker Otto will travel a 35-mile stretch of U.S. Route 33 on Monday in central Ohio..." reports the Associated Press. The truck "will travel in regular traffic, and a driver in the truck will be positioned to intervene should anything go awry, Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Bruning said Friday, adding that 'safety is obviously No. 1.'"

Ohio sees this route as "a corridor where new technologies can be safely tested in real-life traffic, aided by a fiber-optic cable network and sensor systems slated for installation next year" -- although next week the truck will also start driving on the Ohio Turnpike.

98 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. The perfect platform for this is: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The system we already have where vehicles travel only on a very constrained path and little other traffic is allowed.
    All traffic is under the control of a central authority too.

    -- Trains --

    1. Re:The perfect platform for this is: by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      That's because the truck driver is too busy murdering prostitutes

    2. Re:The perfect platform for this is: by PPH · · Score: 1

      You build the distribution hub off a railroad spur. That's a no-brainer.

      Local deliveries (in-town driving) will be done by smaller, human-driven trucks.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    3. Re:The perfect platform for this is: by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Unless it's gone through a switch it's on the track it started on. A train has only one degree of freedom - distance along. You can determine that with machine-readable mileposts.

      GPS is the wrong solution here.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:The perfect platform for this is: by beelsebob · · Score: 1

      So much of a no brainer that everyone has already figured out that it's massively more expensive and less flexible than using trucks?

    5. Re:The perfect platform for this is: by nycsubway · · Score: 1

      Trucking is massively tax-payer subsidized. Railroads own the land their rails run on, pay taxes on that land, and pay 100% of maintenance cost of the rail infrastructure (tracks, bridges, etc). Trucks pay a gas tax... which goes toward that massively subsidized interstate highway system and network of state and local highways. That gas tax does not cover the entire cost of the infrastructure that they use. If tolls were high enough to actually cover the cost of highway construction and maintenance, or if railroads were given the subsidies that highways were given, then rail would be more economical than trucking.

      Rail is inherently more efficient and has less environmental impact. Think of a train of 50 cars. Each car can have 2 intermodal trailers on it. That's 100 containers being transported from one location to another using a crew of two engineers. Transporting 100 containers by truck would need 100 trucks and 100 drivers. A truck at max weight (40 tons) gets ~5mpg. That means that 100 trucks would use 20000 gallons of fuel to go 400 miles. A train would use 1 gallon/ton, or 4000 gallons to move that same load 400 miles.

      A 4 lane highway occupies a minimum of 80 feet of ROW (right of way). A single rail line requires only 17ft of ROW. Double track would require 30ft. The environment footprint of rail is way less than highways. Then think of the highway interchanges... those sprawling multi-acre parks of concrete. A rail interchange requires a lot less land.

      Rail really is better, especially for transporting large volumes of goods. You may say "Yay, but all these places that ship/receive goods are all spread out" ... well, they weren't always. Until the 60s, rail was the primary shipping method, and if you had a plant, factory, or warehouse, you were next to a rail-line. The separation of those businesses from rail physically happened in conjunction with the cost of truck transport becoming so much less than rail as the interstate highway system was built.

  2. Still not ready for cities by burtosis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Since the self driving tech for trucks is at least an order of magnitude or two simpler for fair weather freeway driving than real city driving it's likely it will be implemented there first. You could probably cut the workforce in half or even more by employing drivers only at depots located next to freeways to ferry them the last mile or two within the city. Even between cities in bad weather but that will likely will become automated soon enough. It could potentially eliminate 1.5 to even 2.5 million jobs within 5 years if done this way. Probably will bankrupt every truck stop along major freeways costing another 200k jobs.

    On the bright side thus should employ a few tens of thousands to perhaps even 50k skilled H1-B workers. If anyone can think of how these people will find employment I'd be interested to know as I can't seem to think of how it is gonna happen.

    1. Re:Still not ready for cities by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Since the self driving tech for trucks is at least an order of magnitude or two simpler for fair weather freeway driving than real city driving it's likely it will be implemented there first. You could probably cut the workforce in half or even more by employing drivers only at depots located next to freeways to ferry them the last mile or two within the city.

      The government isn't going to let fully automated trucks run around with nobody to watch them any time soon, but they will slip these features into trucks to reduce driver fatigue. The driver is there to watch the truck, and the truck will also watch the driver and wake them up if they're passing out — but also not let them cream anyone. When the trucks can manage a good safety record with babysitters, then they'll be allowed to run around on their own.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Still not ready for cities by burtosis · · Score: 2

      Since the self driving tech for trucks is at least an order of magnitude or two simpler for fair weather freeway driving than real city driving it's likely it will be implemented there first. You could probably cut the workforce in half or even more by employing drivers only at depots located next to freeways to ferry them the last mile or two within the city.

      The government isn't going to let fully automated trucks run around with nobody to watch them any time soon, but they will slip these features into trucks to reduce driver fatigue. The driver is there to watch the truck, and the truck will also watch the driver and wake them up if they're passing out — but also not let them cream anyone. When the trucks can manage a good safety record with babysitters, then they'll be allowed to run around on their own.

      You may be thinking too sanely. If the incoming administration is as hell bent on bottom lines and profit as any good CEO is this will be a reality in 4 years.

    3. Re:Still not ready for cities by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      You may be thinking too sanely. If the incoming administration is as hell bent on bottom lines and profit as any good CEO is this will be a reality in 4 years.

      The company closest to having a practical self-driving big rig is probably Mercedes, which we know here as Freightliner. His Trumpness has not exactly been overflowing with love for the auto industry in general, either. None of them are really ready to have a class V OTR truck at this time, anyway. They're only ready to do more development in the real world.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Still not ready for cities by OzPeter · · Score: 2

      The driver is there to watch the truck, and the truck will also watch the driver and wake them up if they're passing out

      Don't forget the dog. You'll always need the dog in these automated systems.

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    5. Re:Still not ready for cities by Kjella · · Score: 1

      The government isn't going to let fully automated trucks run around with nobody to watch them any time soon, but they will slip these features into trucks to reduce driver fatigue. The driver is there to watch the truck, and the truck will also watch the driver and wake them up if they're passing out â" but also not let them cream anyone. When the trucks can manage a good safety record with babysitters, then they'll be allowed to run around on their own.

      Have you ever tried to be a driving instructor? You are far more stressed than if you're driving yourself, because you never know when the pupil doesn't react or does something unexpected. If they don't trust it, they're going to turn it off. If they do trust it, the truck will drive itself. Sure they might help if it gets stuck, but sitting there ready to intervene at any moment? No way. So I'm thinking the safety record with babysitters is going to be the same as the safety record without babysitters, it better be good enough from day one. The rest is about not getting stuck when the computer can't figure out what to do.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    6. Re:Still not ready for cities by wasted · · Score: 1

      Probably will bankrupt every truck stop along major freeways costing another 200k jobs.

      The trucks will still need to be fueled for the long trips, so fueling stops will still be needed, but the food, showers, and restaurants won't be needed as much.

      Of course, depending upon technology level, a driver may be needed for the highway exit-fuel-onramp legs until the technology level is ready for the trucks to find fuel stops and refuel successfully.

    7. Re:Still not ready for cities by jcr · · Score: 1

      The government isn't going to let fully automated trucks run around with nobody to watch them any time soon,

      I give it a couple of years, tops. Once the data are in showing a significantly lower accident rate than human drivers, those rules requiring a human on board will look like the rule about all cars having to be preceded by a man on foot carrying a red flag.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    8. Re: Still not ready for cities by Type44Q · · Score: 2

      ...but also not let them cream anyone

      The lot lizards'll have a thing or two to say about that...

    9. Re:Still not ready for cities by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You're going to find this technology used for platooning long before it is used for unattended driving.
      There were already platooning tests in Europe earlier this year where trucks drove autonomously from all over in Europe and met in Spain without a single hitch. Expect to see this soon.

    10. Re:Still not ready for cities by HuguesT · · Score: 1

      Too optimistic. The accident rate for trucks is very low, about 0.15 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled (source: here). We will need a lot of trucks and a lot of time on that 35 mile stretch. Quick calculations, at 1000 trucks per day, 24/7, this will take 100 years.

    11. Re:Still not ready for cities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How long before there are in-trip refueling trucks? After all, there's no need to delay your valuable cargo if there's no driver.

      The automated refueler will just pull in front, stick a pipe out the back end, and pump a load of fuel (which will initially still be diesel, but will eventually be an electric charge dumped from a supercapacitor bank into the rolling truck. Humans have a hard time managing the precise speeds needed, self-driving trucks will not.

      The tech is going to be level 5 very, very quickly. The trucks will go from loading dock to loading dock with no humans, no rest periods, and no need for human support systems like seats, air conditioning, and sleeper cabs.

    12. Re:Still not ready for cities by swillden · · Score: 1

      The government isn't going to let fully automated trucks run around with nobody to watch them any time soon

      Not true. The DoT is already drafting new regulations to cover driverless vehicles. They will require significant testing and evaluation, but the self-driving systems will quickly prove themselves safer than human drivers and will be approved quickly. Especially for highway-only driving.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    13. Re:Still not ready for cities by Dog-Cow · · Score: 1

      If by "very quickly" you mean within the next 3000 years.

    14. Re:Still not ready for cities by jcr · · Score: 2

      First of all, fatalities aren't the only accidents. Secondly, you don't have to drive them a hundred million miles to get a statistically significant sample. Thirdly, it's not just trucking companies, but their insurance carriers and all of their customers who will want to see this legislation.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  3. 10x more job loss than coal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In 2014 there were 1.8 million truck drivers. Average pay was $40K. That's damn good money for a job that doesn't even require a high school education.

    Those people are fuuuuuucked. More fucked than any other industry. More fucked than buggy-whip makers. More fucked than coal miners. In 1980 there were only 230,000 coal miners. Over the last 30 years that's dropped by about 150,000 jobs. But once the they get a working retrofit kit for trucks that are already on the road, the trucking industry is going to shed 90% of their drivers in less than decade.

    And all the ancillary businesses that depend on truckers, like truckstop restaurants and convenience stores, even hookers, they are are fucked too.

    These guys are going to react very poorly to this inevitable future. If Trump's election scared you, get ready from somebody 10x worse when this plays out.

    1. Re:10x more job loss than coal by gtall · · Score: 5, Funny

      "even hookers, they are are fucked too." Surely not.

    2. Re:10x more job loss than coal by burtosis · · Score: 2

      There are around 3.5 million truck drivers employed, not just the 1.8 in big rigs. They are all likely going to lose their jobs and very few of them will have other job experience or training to fall back on.

    3. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not everyone can get a PhD or Master's degree. You have to allow for the "stupid" people unless you want to promote extermination, which makes you an even bigger idiot than your comment makes you out to be.

    4. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Personally I think we should just roll out communism for the lower and middle class masses. Government issued home, uniform, access to autonomous ride sharing, food rations and a basic income. If you do it at scale you can do it with cost effectiveness.

    5. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You imply "PhD" and "stupid" are mutually exclusive. Clearly you have never worked with PhDs.

      mod up.

    6. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      You have to allow for the "stupid" people unless you want to promote extermination

      If you are willing to be patient, then extermination is not necessary. Sterilization is enough.

    7. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We'll have the rich, the poor, and little in between.

      Perhaps. But thanks to technology, today even the poor live better than kings did a few centuries ago.

    8. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Personally I think we should just roll out communism for the lower and middle class masses.

      The bottom quintile (20%) of households already get about 40% of their income from government transfer payments (SS, SSDI, SNAP, etc). As technology improves productivity and reduces prices, that percentage can easily increase.

    9. Re:10x more job loss than coal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Maybe they can get jobs as grief counselors for Hillary voters. It's a growth industry without limit!

    10. Re:10x more job loss than coal by Iamthecheese · · Score: 1

      There's still a long way to go. There are myriad tasks truckers take care of besides driving the truck. Small repairs, paperwork at both ends, balancing and certifying weight, changing the route when necessary, refueling, loading and unloading, security, and not least important, monitoring trucks on the road for problems. If an automated long-haul truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere that's going to be an expensive fix.

      I'm predicting no more than an initial 30% loss once the driving is fully automated .(because teams will be cut down to one driver) And a lot of truckers own their own trucks, meaning they do all the work involved in subcontracting the loads.

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    11. Re:10x more job loss than coal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > There are myriad tasks truckers take care of besides driving the truck

      I expect we will see caravans. Where there are 10+ trucks in a row, the first truck will have a human to handle all the misc duties and to take over the driving when conditions deviate from the norm. All the other trucks will just "lock on" to the truck in front of them much like cruise-control in luxury cars already does today.

    12. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by rfengr · · Score: 2

      Maybe not nutritious food to heat up, but frozen burritos can be had for $0.25 each in bulk. Three of those a day and you are set.

    13. Re:10x more job loss than coal by quenda · · Score: 1

      Average pay was $40K. That's damn good money for a job that doesn't even require a high school education.

      Good money for a delivery van in the city. Not so good if you are working long-haul - long hours away from home & family.
      In a wealthy country like the US, $40k ought to be the minimum full-time wage, in a job where you need reliable safety-conscious people.

      And why should "stupid" people be treated as an underclass and paid badly? Might as well start paying people according to their height or skin colour.

    14. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      For most of human history people lived in small cooperative bands. there was only a small amount of social inequality. The productivity of the human race has increased greatly. No one need be hungry or live in poverty. The hunger and poverty are political choices bad choices at that. To all that think killing half the human race is a solution to anything I say you are monsters. There are so many things that do not require a high IQ and all human life must be respected.

    15. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      (check out the stats on hunger in America)

      I did. Among the poor, obesity is a far bigger problem than hunger.

    16. Re:10x more job loss than coal by PPH · · Score: 1

      This.

      A lot of their job involves unloading and carting stuff around. It's going to be a long time before a robot can haul a pallet load of stuff in a service entrance, maneuver around crap piled in a warehouse and deliver it where it belongs. And then there's the stairs ....

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    17. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by Mitreya · · Score: 1

      You imply "PhD" and "stupid" are mutually exclusive. Clearly you have never worked with PhDs.

      mod up.

      GGP clearly meant "stupid" as in "not able to" or "not having any desire to" get a PhD.

      PhD degree is not even a salary-optimal path. A good MS degree with 5+ years experience is likely to lead to a much more lucrative salary.

    18. Re:10x more job loss than coal by BoogieChile · · Score: 1

      There's always going to be a requirement for someone to hold down the Driver Safety Device

    19. Re:10x more job loss than coal by roman_mir · · Score: 1

      More fucked than buggy-whip makers.

      - hold on, a large number of the truckers are owner-operators, you are talking about people who are themselves drivers and they own (lease/finance/own) their vehicle and they find their jobs on job boards and such. So what you saying is that the drivers are fucked because they will install devices into their trucks that will drive the trucks for them. These are now people who will be able to drive 24/7 as opposed to being kept from driving by their logbooks (when they are supposed to take their breaks).

      So in reality the people who own the trucks will be better off, some percentage of the drivers for hire who do not have their vehicles will become obsolete at some point, so don't be a driver for hire, make sure to own your truck, which is your business.

    20. Re:10x more job loss than coal by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Uh, many of those truck drivers have to mortgage their own truck on that and they are away from their families 90% of their life. That's why the pay.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    21. Re:10x more job loss than coal by roman_mir · · Score: 1

      Automation will drive down pricing and this means increasing competition and it does favour capital, so yes, the ones with the foresight to grow their fleet will win and the ones who do not understand the trend will lose their driving gig, but it means that people with more business sense will survive in this business, which is a great thing for everybody, the economy wins with much lower delivery costs. The long distance drivers will be able to do much more driving of the trucks within cities because many more trucks will be on the road with automation.

      Removing one of the 3 major cost components from the equation (fuel cost, labour cost, truck cost) will bring prices down allowing people to buy more trucks. I fully expect more trucks on the road, not fewer when the automation takes over but this means that the long haul drivers will be converting to local driving because local point to point delivery.

      Eventually it is hopefully possible to replace all forms of truck driving with full automation (not in the next few years but possibly in the next few decades, maybe 25-40 years from now there will only be 5-10% of the current truck drivers on the road) but that means we are all much better off with much lower transportation costs.

    22. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by Dog-Cow · · Score: 2

      Better counterpoint: all of human history.

    23. Re:10x more job loss than coal by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      Well uneducated whites voted hard for Trump, so I think this is a good payback for them.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    24. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Only so long as the ones in the higher quintiles are willing to pay more.

      As robots take over, and productivity increases, returns on capital will soar, and the top quintile will pay plenty of additional tax even if rates stay the same.

    25. Re:10x more job loss than coal by whodunit · · Score: 1

      Pfff. Until they make an autonomous vehicle that can answer a Trolley Problem, drivers aren't going anywhere.

    26. Re:10x more job loss than coal by roman_mir · · Score: 1

      Maybe they should be pissed at the right people. The government that adds regulations and taxes on top of regulations and taxes. In 2017 the new HOS (Hours Of Service) laws are coming into effect in the USA. So it will become much more expensive to have a person driving a truck on the highway. The equipment costs skyrocket for the truck owners and at the same time the driving costs will as well with fewer driving hours. All this so that the government can control and oppress people some more. Of course this will accelerate the switch from long haul drivers to automated highway driving.

      http://www.ccjdigital.com/ooid...

      https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hour...

      http://www.overdriveonline.com...

      http://www.trucknews.com/featu...

      Of course Canada takes every 'great' American idea and parrots it http://www.trucknews.com/trans...

      So AFAIC the real culprits for faster automation of highway drivers are found in the government.

    27. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by strikethree · · Score: 1

      We'll have the rich, the poor, and little in between.

      Perhaps. But thanks to technology, today even the poor live better than kings did a few centuries ago.

      People keep trotting this out...

      Sure, I am not likely to die of polio, tuberculosis, flu, or black plague. Sure, my bed is more comfortable than any bed any king ever had. Yes, I can communicate with people anywhere on the planet in a moments notice. That shit is UTTERLY great. I love it; however....

      A king never has to worry about where his next meal is coming from. A king never has to worry about whether or not his children will have a home tomorrow (well, he may worry that they will get executed in the next palace coup... but you surely understand my point). A king never has a problem getting pussy. A king has people waiting on his every need. A king has people who will listen to him. A king has great control over his environment. (substitute king for queen and he for she if you think this a masculine rant.)

      Long story short, living like a king a thousand years ago was far more enjoyable than living like a pauper now... that is assuming the pauper can afford a roof, clothes, and food. Without even those items, life is just absolutely miserable and guaranteed to end rather quickly.

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
    28. Re:10x more job loss than coal by PPH · · Score: 1

      It's the other end of the local deliveries I'm thinking about. The truck might be loaded at a robotic facility. But it will be unloaded at dozens of local businesses, each which have strange hallways, cramped kitchen entrances, piles of crap blocking aisles, etc.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    29. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by Neuronwelder · · Score: 1

      You are right! They subsidize "junk food" to make it cheap. And good food.. well your on your own. :(

    30. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by haruchai · · Score: 1

      "the top quintile will pay plenty of additional tax even if rates stay the same"

      I wouldn't bet on that. Greed knows no boundaries and I'm convinced the wealthy will find ways to pay as little as possible no matter how much they make.

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    31. Re:10x more job loss than coal by thenitz · · Score: 1

      But they won't lose all their jobs at once. First commercially available self driving trucks will appear no earlier than 2020. They'll probably only be certified for highway driving when the weather is fine. They will be expensive and they'll be used by a few companies in pilot projects. They won't replace the driver but extend the hours while the vehicle is moving - the ex-driver can sleep while the truck is driving itself on the interstate.

      Slowly they become popular across big rigs but for a long time they'll still need someone on board, even if not actively driving. That's for security or for negotiating town streets. We are talking 20-30 years until those millions of jobs will be lost. There's plenty of time for those people to retire or move on.

    32. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      That's just plain BS. Aside from the other poster's quip about the South, there's an enormous number of American women these days who are basically sugar mommies for unemployed and underemployed men. There's even a stereotype about these women buying cellphones for these men (and paying their cellular bills).

    33. Re:10x more job loss than coal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No one needs to wait.. Have you ever driven on a interstate outside of a city center?
      Like 1/3 of the traffic, at least here in the Midwest, is already trucks. All they need to do is get on the interstate and within a few miles will be able to join a caravan.
      Might start with two trucks, but within a few dozen miles a couple more trucks will join, etc.
      There is no need for them to be going to the 'same place', they just need to be moving along the same road.

    34. Re:10x more job loss than coal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "No one in their right mind would do any highly skilled job/career if there was not a (significant) pay difference. "
      "I would never do what I am doing if it paid anywhere near the same as "stupid" people jobs."
      And no one suggested that!
      Just because people think janitors deserve to live a decent life too does not mean that people are saying you shouldn't!
      "their job is of lesser significance and importance and can be done by anyone"
      And I say to that.. Wrong!
      They may be able to be done by 'anyone' but they can't be done by 'everyone'. Can you pick strawberries all day long and fast enough to keep that job?
      I bet you can't. I know I couldn't. I also bet you would not WANT to do that shitty job. Yet, at the same time, I'm sure you have no trouble buying some strawberries at the store and enjoying them.
      What if everyone with these "lesser significance and importance" jobs just stopped showing up for work tomorrow?
      How many days food and water do you have?? Because that would be about how long you would have to live.

      We need to get out of the zero sum mindset that if you want better pay, someone else has to have shittier pay.
      When I see people with the mindset of 'well, they are dumb, and their job does not require smarts or education, so therefor their life should rightfully be shitty and their compensation poor' I just feel sad.

      We went from a country where a simple high school education and hard work was enough for a solid middle class lifestyle to one where even a degree and internships is not enough, and anyone without DESERVES a shitty life.

      That's not MY America. In MY America I want all peoples standard of living to improve. I WANT people at the bottom of the ladder to afford housing, cars, electronics, entertainment and occasional vacations. That is what makes MY housing, cars, electronics and such better.
      The ipad would never exist for a market of a few hundred wealthy people. It NEEDED to sell to millions of 'regular' people for the development to even work.
      International air travel does not exist for a few privileged elite who own their own aircraft. If it did, who the hell would build an airport that would only get a couple of aircraft a year?

      The stronger the base of the capitalist pyramid is, the greater the height of the top, and the less likely it is to topple.

    35. Re: 10x more job loss than coal by eionmac · · Score: 1

      The 'poor' are always with us and the exact magnitude of living quality shifts with time. Today's poor have better health and life than many 19th Century rich (or even kings). Think of the advances in childbirth risk. (Deaths in UK once at 30%, now much less so)

      --
      Regards Eion MacDonald
  4. ...a driver in the truck... by willoughby · · Score: 1

    Obviously not a union member.

    1. Re:...a driver in the truck... by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 1

      Just wait, it'll happen. They'll give it a high tech name though - like say "Skynet".

    2. Re:...a driver in the truck... by gtall · · Score: 1

      Wow, you came here just use the term "Skynet". Very insightful, very insightful.

  5. Re:Our Jerbs!! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    The biggest campaigning error Clinton made was focusing too much on Trump's personal character and not enough countering the "outsiders took your jobs" angle that Trump used.

    Automation is a bigger threat to blue-collar jobs than outsiders or allegedly bad trade deals, and her retraining plans were thus more rational.

    In the end, people vote their pocket book more than candidate character. The election wasn't about pussy grabbing nor being dodgy with email, but job loss.

    Trump made a powerful emotional appeal to turn back the clock, and Clinton needed to hammer home the message that those jobs are NOT coming back and that her retraining plans had a better chance helping jobs.

  6. Re: Our Jerbs!! by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 1

    The party of personal responsibility doesn't do anything but suck corporate wang.

  7. Re:Get some space ready.. by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 1

    Screw that. They are just "skills challenged". We'll just train them to be coders.

  8. Yes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I, for one, welcome our new self-driving truck overlords.

    1. Re:Yes by CCarrot · · Score: 1

      I, for one, welcome our new self-driving truck overlords.

      Does this remind anyone else of that old Stephen King short story Trucks?

      Better get your gas-pumpin'-hand warmed up...

      --
      "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
    2. Re:Yes by mhotchin · · Score: 1

      The movie "Trucks" - the BAD version of "Maximum Overdrive".

      Can't believe they made this story into a movie, much less TWO movies.

    3. Re:Yes by CCarrot · · Score: 1

      The movie "Trucks" - the BAD version of "Maximum Overdrive".

      Can't believe they made this story into a movie, much less TWO movies.

      FYI, Books != Movies (except maybe for Harry Potter, which probably explains why I couldn't stand the books)

      I did mean the short story, because I have not watched either movie. Its a classic King short story: spine-shivering, imagination-firing and not necessarily ending well for the protagonists.

      Reading is fun! You should try it some day! ;-D

      --
      "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
  9. Re:Our Jerbs!! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    So Let It Be Tweeted! So Let It Be Done!

    FTFY

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  10. Not so hasty by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    If the incoming administration is as hell bent on bottom lines and profit as any good CEO is this will be a reality in 4 years.

    It's not like we elected Clinton after all. We managed to elect someone substantially less Ferengi.

    The truckers are the kind of people who voted for Trump so he would be less inclined to hasty adoption of tech to replace truck drivers.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Not so hasty by stabiesoft · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except trump could give a crap about those people now. They served their purpose. In his world it is definitely what are you going to do for me tomorrow.

  11. Re: Sad to see Trump supports this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You're in need of remedial reading lessons.

    I never said progress was happening in those fields.

    As a matter of fact the nepotism we see so often in artistic fields is a major cause of stagnation there too.

    I am personally far less inclined to watch a movie if the offspring of a celebrity is in it. Hate that.

  12. Re:What's a Trump voter to do ? by jcr · · Score: 2

    high school graduates who have been coasting through life thinking their whiteness entitles them to a middle class lifestyle are toast. The number of jobs they're intellectually capable of performing is set to dwindle.

    I can say the same thing about anyone with a (whatever) "studies" degree. Making coffee's pretty easy to automate.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  13. Re:Our Jerbs!! by jcr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Her big fuck-up was basing her entire campaign on the premise that anyone who didn't support her already was an idiot/bigot/misogynist/etc.

    Attacking your opponent is expected. Attacking your opponent's supporters is bloody stupid.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  14. "MAGA" by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 2

    It is funny how Trump pied-piper blue-collars about bringing jobs back, when he and his coven are for eliminating the minimum wage, privatizing Social Security, raising the retirement age to 70 or higher...



    ... and replacing truckers with bots they don't have to pay.

    1. Re:"MAGA" by ghoul · · Score: 3, Insightful

      He said he will get back jobs. Not that they would be middle class jobs. If the minimum wage in the US is made less than the minimum wage in China and unions are banned , companies will bring back factories. People who work these jobs will just have to get used to living 4 bunkbeds to a room and 6.5 day weeks to be able to afford food. The sick will just have to die as these jobs will not have medical coverage. Also the boss will not give time off to go vote so these workers will not vote out Trump next time around.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    2. Re:"MAGA" by HuguesT · · Score: 1

      Look up cuckquean. Actual word.

    3. Re:"MAGA" by ArsonSmith · · Score: 1

      or not have a job, not have enough to afford food, and just die.

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  15. Re:Get some space ready.. by ghoul · · Score: 1

    To take a person used to a carefree life on the road and stick them in a cubicle. Thats cruel and unusual punishment

    --
    **Life is too short to be serious**
  16. Re: the cyberpunk future is coming by PPH · · Score: 1

    facial recognition cameras

    One bearded hobo pretty much looks like every other one, plus many of the hipsters.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  17. Re:Our Jerbs!! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Trump attacked women, Muslims, Mexicans, short people, fat people, crippled people, etc. Thus, your logic fails here.

  18. Re: the cyberpunk future is coming by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    and then the jail / prison will feed and board me + they have the DR that does a lot more then the ones at the ER do when you have no way to pay.

  19. Re:Our Jerbs!! by Dorianny · · Score: 1

    The biggest campaigning error Clinton made was focusing too much on Trump's personal character and not enough countering the "outsiders took your jobs" angle that Trump used.

    Automation is a bigger threat to blue-collar jobs than outsiders or allegedly bad trade deals, and her retraining plans were thus more rational.

    In the end, people vote their pocket book more than candidate character. The election wasn't about pussy grabbing nor being dodgy with email, but job loss.

    Trump made a powerful emotional appeal to turn back the clock, and Clinton needed to hammer home the message that those jobs are NOT coming back and that her retraining plans had a better chance helping jobs.

    The "poorly educated" want villeins to rail against and quick easy fixes, not the cold hard truth and plans that require time and sacrifice. Trump gave them both with his blatant lies. The only way to beat Trump was to lie even more then him and its doubtful if that's even possible

  20. Big changes coming to our truck stops by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    Are they prepared to be invaded by no-name autonomous Linux laptops, making their own way from cab to cab in the self-driving truck standby row, interfacing with trucks who are away from the watchful gaze of their corporate mainframes? Self-driving trucks going rogue and snarfing up flash drives full of ones and zeroes smuggled in from Mexico?

  21. remote monitoring ability by backslashdot · · Score: 1

    Especially taxis, they should be remotely monitored. I am pretty sure they will need that unless they are cool with people puking or worse in the cab. I mean one person should be able to monitor 3 or 4 vehicles at the same time. Since this may incur a high cellular data cost, it can just send stills every 3 seconds uness realtime video conferencing is needed.

    Trucks too should be remotely monitored.

  22. Now how it actually works by fyngyrz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You completely misunderstand how things actually work. A few kids out of 350 million people get shot by some crazy idiot who should never have been on the streets, "we need new gun laws"; one child gets run over, "we need to replace drivers"; a few aircraft are found to have vulnerable cockpits, and no one can ever get on a plane again without ridiculous, expensive security theater (as opposed to actually solving the problem by hardening the cockpits, a one-time cost that doesn't screw your liberties over.) Etc.

    Laws aren't a product of sane, reasonable thinking due to science and statistics. Laws are all about pandering, and pandering depends on getting the mommies to feel protective. All it takes is a corporate agenda -- some profit-making scheme -- to push the legislators where they need to go.

    Basically, for love of money and re-election, congress creates panics to push a particular corporate agenda; that works, and the corporations get their way, the congresscritters get re-elected, and all is well with the world. From their lofty perspective, anyway.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
    1. Re:Now how it actually works by haruchai · · Score: 1

      " A few kids out of 350 million people get shot by some crazy idiot who should never have been on the streets, "we need new gun laws""

      What new gun laws were passed because of the Sandy Hook slaughter?

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    2. Re:Now how it actually works by judoguy · · Score: 1

      " A few kids out of 350 million people get shot by some crazy idiot who should never have been on the streets, "we need new gun laws""

      What new gun laws were passed because of the Sandy Hook slaughter?

      Try reading the post. He didn't say laws got passed, he said that lot of people, including the POTUS, wept and begged for massive new "gun control" laws.

      Because something bad but really rare happened, we have to screw everyone else over. The parent made a crystal clear analysis of the hysteria that seems to always follow very rare events.

      --
      Peace is easy to achieve, just surrender. Liberty is much harder get/keep.
  23. Re:Our Jerbs!! by jcr · · Score: 1, Insightful

    There are no Drumpf supporters who are not bigots, not stupid, or not misogynist.

    Want another Trump term? Just keep on sneering at the people you need to convince to change sides, dumbass.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  24. Re:Our Jerbs!! by jcr · · Score: 1

    Yes he did, and Hillary attacked Bernie's supporters. Which of them is stupider?

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  25. Re:Our Jerbs!! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Perhaps, but maybe not a difference maker if both do it. A wash. It's like exaggerating, almost all politicians do it such that it's often not a difference maker.

  26. Re:What's a Trump voter to do ? by GLMDesigns · · Score: 1

    I guess you don't realize how unbelievably bigoted and racist you sound. Do you say the same the same thing about farmers and laborers from other countries who are immigrating here?

    You do realize we are importing people by the millions who, according to you, are intellectually incapable to cope in the modern workplace.

    What do you propose we do about this?

    --
    If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
    Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
  27. good thing this isn't France! by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    Or these self-driving trucks would have to be able to cope with human-driven trucks blocking all lanes of the freeway in protest.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  28. Re:Our Jerbs!! by haruchai · · Score: 1

    "Attacking your opponent's supporters is bloody stupid"

    Doesn't seem to have hurt the GOP who've been doing that as long as I can remember and I remember when Nixon got elected

    --
    Pain is merely failure leaving the body
  29. Re:Our Jerbs!! by OhPlz · · Score: 1

    If that were true, Trump would not have won.

  30. Re:Get some space ready.. by PixelPusher1532 · · Score: 1

    To take a person used to a carefree life on the road and stick them in a cubicle. Thats cruel and unusual punishment

    A carefree life of sitting in a glass and steel walled box, staring out a screen, unable to get out of your chair, unable to even take your hands off the wheel, for hours on end, even closing your eyes for 10 seconds could cause death. A trip to the bathroom costs 30 minutes and requires planing and a review of its impact on a successful project.

  31. Truck Botnets, and Ransomeware galore...... by softcoder · · Score: 1

    If you thought botnets of WebCams were bad, wait till you have botnets of hacked self driving vehicles. Sounds like something out of Stephen King!
    And Ransomeware galore.
    The mind boggles at what Organized Crime or Immigration 'Coyotes' can do with a fleet of hacked self driving vehicles.
    Does no one else see this? I feel like Will Smith in 'i Robot', "Now we have Robots building robots. Wonderful!"

  32. Re:Our Jerbs!! by nephilimsd · · Score: 1

    "And then you need to fix it." Or, you know, continue voting in ways that you don't approve of.

  33. Re:Our Jerbs!! by painandgreed · · Score: 1

    The fact that you don't like it doesn't mean it isn't true. A LOT of Trump supporters are exactly those things. Just because Trump won doesn't make that just go away.

    True, but the people who are like that know it and don't care or even are proud, while those that aren't are just going to be upset they are being poked with a stick by the other side which will just increase their resolve. While yelling such may be emotionally gratifying, it isn't going to help the cause any. Same goes for Republicans calling Democrats all sorts of names. Calling once side stereotypes just reinforces the non-stereotypes that the other side are the real stereotypes.