Study Suggests Self-Driving Trucks Could Replace 500,000 U.S. Jobs

Study Suggests , Self-Driving Trucks, Could Replace 500,000 U.S. Jobs.

Automotive News reports that autonomous driving engineers are focusing their efforts on perfecting long-haul freight.

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Most interstate runs lack anything more complex that slow curves or E-ZPass lanes.

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This means that those routes pose less of a challenge for engineers.

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Automotive News reports that the most complex challenge relates to existing infrastructure.

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While self-driving trucks can easily navigate interstates, even short trips outside of that route present complicated challenges.

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A University of Michigan study suggests setting up a split system.

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Human drivers handle the shorter more complicated parts of pick-up and delivery, while autonomous vehicles handle the long, monotonous part of the route.

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This system could replace almost 90% of human driving in U.S. long-haul trucking.

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That equals approximately 500,000 jobs.

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The focus on autonomous trucking comes amid a driver shortage that has contributed to the ongoing supply chain crisis.

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It is happening already, but in a fairly limited way.

, Parth Vaishnav, University of Michigan Climate and Energy assistant professor and co-author of the study, via Automotive News.

Among several startups, San Diego-based TuSimple plans to start autonomous deliveries to large swaths of the U.S. by the end of 2023.