Autonomous Trucking: The Risks and The Benefits

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Autonomous Trucking The Risks and The Benefits
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Self-Driving Technology A Blessing or a Curse
The self-driving technologys bound to become a
reality in the United States with the possibility
of impacting regular motorists and people making
their living behind the wheels. Most experts
claim that this can reduce the extent of on-road
injuries and accidents, while other say it can
eliminate jobs at one and the same time. Taking
all these factors into account, we will take a
closer look at autonomous trucking and its
associated pros and cons in meticulous detail for
your reference.
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Benefits of Autonomous Trucking
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Less Road Accidents
While self-driving trucks arent completely safe
and accident proof (in hostile weather
conditions), they can still lead to a significant
reduction in traffic fatalities in comparison to
human-driven trucks. A McKinsey report claims
that autonomous vehicles can lead to around 90
decrease in traffic fatalities.
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Decrease in Congestion and Traffic Jams
Another often overlooked benefit that autonomous
trucks provide is that they can greatly reduce
congestion and traffic jams throughout the
country, particularly on highways. Thats because
autonomous trucks will be pre-programmed to take
the most optimal route possible and will not be
susceptible to delayed human reactions leading to
traffic backups.
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Cost-efficient
Autonomous trucks can result in cost efficiency
to companies using them. Of course, therell be a
large investment upfront for the purchase of the
vehicle, but over time, the investment is
expected to go down through a combination
increased fuel efficiency, and a significant
decrease in human drivers having to be paid.
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Risks of Autonomous Trucking
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Security concerns
Autonomous trucks are vulnerable to hackers and
other types of criminal activities. Even if the
truck has a human inside, theres every
possibility of a hacker infiltrating the software
and overriding the controls as per his/her will.
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Loss of jobs
While self-driving trucks can create new jobs in
various positions, they can unfortunately lead to
truck drivers losing their jobs. This obviously
wont happen overnight, but it is still a very
real concern if autonomous trucking starts taking
off in a big way.
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[phone] www.texas-truckaccidentlawyer.com