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Representatives of Insurance Truck (InsuranceTruck.com), a California-based truck insurance wholesaler for independent commercial agents, have been analyzing recent studies regarding the effects of autonomous driving on the trucking industry, with the current consensus suggesting fleet management – or “platooning” – will most likely be the sector influenced by the autonomous trend. The analysis of this data by Insurance Truck personnel was spurred by chatter regarding how quickly autonomous driving is changing the passenger vehicle segment, from autonomous taxi services to improving driver safety, and how self-driving solutions could make trucking more efficient.
“It has been discovered that the consensus for autonomous trucking at this point involves fleet management – in other words, a lead truck that’s controlled by a human while one or more autonomously-controlled trucks follow behind,” states an Insurance Truck company spokesperson. “From a certain perspective, this makes sense, given that many trucks spend a big part of their time racking up highway miles; for those in the ‘autonomous driving know,’ highway driving is a much easier task to accomplish than city driving because there are far less situations that the vehicle encounters.
“Following a lead vehicle with the assistance of near-field communications and a number of autonomous applications makes the task even easier.”
Still, Insurance Truck representatives are quick to point out the dangers facing the trucking industry from the march towards autonomy. According to a recent study by Goldman Sachs analyzed by Insurance Truck reps, autonomous driving – at its peak – could potentially eliminate up to 25,000 trucking jobs per month (approximately 300,000 annually), and with some 3.5 million truck drivers currently operating in America, this is a significant measure.
There is, however, a silver lining to the autonomous cloud hovering above the trucking industry in that giants such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Fiat offer cargo, transit and work vans that could benefit from autonomous trucking. Further, if Fiat merges with Alphabet and its Waymo software – while GM and Ford roll out their other autonomous transport services – a tremendous benefit could be realized for the autonomous trucking sector, albeit on a smaller scale than the semi-truck market.
Release ID: 392705