Autonomous trucks will never fully replace human drivers
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jul 2023
While the US department of transportation believes automated driving systems will become the norm, 52% of those in the transportation industry say they are uncomfortable with the idea of riding in an autonomous truck according to a new survey by JW Surety Bonds.
The US department of transportation believes that autonomous trucks will improve road safety, bring down pollution levels, ease traffic congestion and the like.
The survey findings published on
www.jwsuretybonds.com said the current transportation industry workers are somewhat optimistic about autonomous trucking but many still worry about safety, high costs and impact on human job security.
The survey revealed that as with most new technologies, being willing to adapt and learn are essential to staying relevant in an ever-changing world.
Around 43% of the participants in the survey believe that autonomous trucks will be more dangerous than those driven by humans and only 28% believe they will be safer and 46% believe that autonomous-only lanes would make driving safer. Over two in five respondents believe that addressing cyber security concerns is one of the biggest challenges of implementing autonomous trucks.
According to those in transportation, the top potential benefits of autonomous trucks are increased productivity with 24x7 operations (70%); reduced operational costs (58%); and increased capacity for long-haul trips (53%).
Over 50% of those in the transportation industry do not believe autonomous trucks will ever fully replace human drivers and 86% think autonomous trucks will have a negative impact on truck drivers’ job security.
The majority of people in the transportation industry (70%) believe autonomous trucks will become entirely mainstream within 20 years.
More than three fourths (78%) of those surveyed think the transportation industry is not well-prepared for the transition to autonomous trucks, with the biggest challenges being safety and reliability concerns regarding autonomous technology (70%); high implementation and maintenance costs (59%); legal and regulatory challenges (56%) and job displacement and re-training needs for current truck drivers (51%). M