Self driving cars are something that have begun to become normal. With services such as Waymo throughout San Francisco, self-driving vehicles will be a normal appearance in even more states and towns soon enough. What happens when big trucks carrying cars or construction materials begin to drive themselves, as well?
California has announced that it is proposing to allow testing of heavy, over 10,001 pound vehicles, to self drive on state roads. June 10th is the day of reckoning to have a public hearing on the matter, according to reuters.com. Most U.S. adults agree that they would not ride in a self-driving vehicle to get from one place to the other, roughly 6/10 American adults in fact, says pewresearch.org. So, how safe would most of these people feel if there is a truck weighing over 10,000 pounds driving next to them on the freeway?
There are already tons of risks of driving on the freeway and in general, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). You already have a 1 in 366 chance of getting into a car crash in your entire life, and you are even more likely to get in a car crash due to weather! If a self-driving vehicle depends on cameras and sensors to get to where it needs to go safely and efficiently, imagine a giant vehicle trying to travel across the state getting skewed vision due to rain. If there are no people to use a windshield wiper, the vehicle would be moving in constant blurred visibility. Some self-driving vehicles will even stop at the last minute and be extremely delayed, which can be even worse in weather.
Safety out of the way, creating self driving trucks would cause a loss in jobs. “If these trucks replace human drivers, I’m going to be pissed beyond words. I spent $7000 on my trucking school so I can have a new career that provides well for myself and my family. There are too many things that can happen when you have 80,000 pounds going down the road. There needs to be a real person behind the wheel,” said a response from a Facebook user to a post by NBC Bay Area. It may be difficult for people to find themselves feeling safe around a massive self-driving vehicle when a license to drive such a massive truck already can cost up to $12,000. Trucks, and vehicles in general, for that matter, cannot earn their license. On top of that, they don’t have the experience or compassion of a real human being, either.
Loss of jobs and feeling unsafe should be reason enough for California to reconsider the testing. However, when outside influences such as Arizona and Texas have already begun testing, it’s hard not to join in. While testing already may be getting suspended or set back, how long will that last? Self driving cars, trucks, and heavy vehicles, no matter your opinion on the matter, will be affecting our future. Self driving vehicles are headed forward, whether we like it or not.
beniciapaw.com 