Many have seen in movies how futuristic cars drive by themselves, but this may not be that far away according to some experts in the field of automobiles. Even some of the top brands are looking at this to cut down on accidents and provide automation to the trucking industry. Will this be the shot in the arm for trucking or will it be a shot in the foot for those in the hot shot trucking industry? At this point, we don’t know because we do not know how they will be controlled or who will be the ones controlling the vehicles.
The good point about this type of technology for trucking is that the hot shot trucking industry could monitor their trucks 24/7 and know the exact location of all their fleet with a touch of a button. This would be extremely difficult in today’s world because of the cost and some modifications that would have to be made to some of the trucks if they are older and or not up to date with most that are on the road today, but it would be very helpful to the companies with large or medium size fleets that have up to date trucks for their hot shot services or larger trucks. With having no overhead as far as the people driving the trucks or trying to find those with the correct license this would be a time saver and HR dreams they would not have to do background checks on the individuals either.
The downside to all of this is where does the fault lie with accidents if there are viruses from the communications, what if the systems are hacked, the ones that do have CDLs or are doing hot shot trucking services with their vehicles but do not have the money to have bigger and more complicated trucks that will be able to utilize the autonomous functions will be left behind. These are just a few of the questions that will arise during the upcoming years before this is implemented. But just seeing that the workforce of many people that drive trucks each and every day will be removed from what they have done for years and replaced with automation is the sad part of how technology isn’t always the best avenue for our society.
In conclusion, we have seen in the past that technology has helped our society but looking at hindsight we have also seen how technology has created more headaches in some industries newer problems have arisen that businesses have to deal with on a daily basis or be left behind. Do you think that Autonomous Trucks will be the best thing for the future of hot shot trucking or will it be that it will be taken over by more elite companies with more power and money and shut out those working day by day that just provides a meal and clothes for their family. These are true questions we as a society have to answer even though the technology is there and they say it would make it safer and cleaner for everyone does it truly. What happens when the trucks start wearing down are they recycled, or do they go in a landfill which would be worse for everyone than what we are living in now? But for now, we need trucking and all types of transportation to get goods and services to the customers and shipped from the manufacturing plants, farms, and dealerships. We do not have that much time before it will be implemented so only the future will know where this will lead for the coming of hot shot trucking