If we can draw conclusions from the recent presentation in Rotterdam, self-driving trucks are indeed around the corner. And this, as calculated by TechCrunch journalists, will leave millions unemployed, but also lead to a drop in prices for the vast majority of products, primarily food items.
What is the catch? If you send a fully loaded truck from Los Angeles to New York, the cost of the trip today is around $4,500, with as much as 75% attributed to labor. While drivers in the U.S. today are not allowed to sit behind the wheel for more than 11 hours a day without taking an eight-hour break, the restrictions will not apply to self-driving trucks as there will be no one to pose a danger to themselves and others on the road due to fatigue, reports dnevnik.hr.
Additionally, there will be savings on fuel as ‘smart trucks’ will ensure they travel at optimal speeds, adjusted for minimal consumption. Therefore, as transportation costs decrease, it is clear that the prices of what we buy will also be lower.
When we will actually see the first fully functional self-driving trucks on the roads is hard to say as there are still many challenges ahead for manufacturers, but we will not be able to hide from the upcoming technology.
