Driverless lorries,,,,

[Salty seadog]

....not for me please.

 

[Markymark]

Considering the standard of driving of lorries in London I'd gladly take driverless lorries...or even lorries driven by PG Tip chimps.

 

[Salty seadog]

This is being pushed by the big transport firms. who have huge sway over government.

A massive worry.

 

[Salty seadog]

This has a smack of unintended consequence about it.

 

[srw]

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ruck-convoy-trials-get-uk-go-ahead-platooning

Great idea. Less fuel used, less congestion (because automated systems are better than humans at making use of scarce space), safer roads, lower cost deliveries. What's not to like? It's the first baby step towards fully autonomous driving which - for road vehicles - is the way forward.

 

[Markymark]

This is being sold to Parliament and the public as being a 'green' initiative - running lorries like this improves fuel efficiency.

But the reality is in the long run its about costs. Having a convoy that is driverless, or where one driver controls multiple vehicles, means fewer drivers are needed - and vehicles can be driven for longer each day without the need for rest hours.

Both are beneficial. Lorries kill a disproportionate number of cyclists and pedestrians in London. Remove them from the equation is wonderful. If it's greener and improves efficiency then that's an added bonus.

 

[srw]

Then again, remove the eyes and ears from the cab and instead rely on electronics to see what is happening around the vehicle? How does that improve things for the most vulnerable road users?

Errr.....

That's not what's being proposed at the moment. This experiment has an emergency driver in each cab, the convoy controlled by the front (human) driver and is on a motorway where there are (almost) no vulnerable road users. Even if this is the end of the experiment it's a Good Thing.

My best guess is that fully driverless HGVs will never make it into busy cities or on minor roads, with the last bit off the delivery being done by smaller vehicles. And when we do get properly autonomous cars we'll be very grateful for the very considerably improved road safety.

 

[Tin Pot]

....not for me please.

We Fear Change.

 

[Salty seadog]

We Fear Change.

thin end of the wedge.

 

[Tin Pot]

 

[raleighnut]

If only we could invent a system whereby a couple of people could move thousands of tons of goods from A-B and they could then be loaded onto smaller vehicles for delivery to their final destination, Even better if they travelled on separate routes to other vehicles and could be powered by electricity.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

The BBC got that story so wrong, it was farcical.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Nice concept but I think it's a big fail in waiting

 

[Drago]

Many lorries currently hurtle and wobble up the road as if they have no one in control of them anyway.

If it genuinely works properly, then I'm all for it. Anything that eliminates the human capacity for bad, dangerous or unlawful behaviour is a good thing.

 

[swansonj]

Then again, remove the eyes and ears from the cab and instead rely on electronics to see what is happening around the vehicle? How does that improve things for the most vulnerable road users?

Actually, comparing the track record of lorry drivers in London with that of the developing autonomous cars in the US, I'd say that vulnerable road users could be a lot better off relying on electronics. One (but only one) specific aspect is the ability of the electronics to continuously monitor and assimilate multiple inputs.