Negatives of Self-Driving Trucks

With the introduction of new semi-trucks from Tesla, a new debate has begun in the automotive industry. Do we need self-driving trucks? Many people are supporting the point by saying that the advantages of self-driving trucks are many.
They say that it would help in decreasing traffic jams. It would also help in easing the driving process. However, when every other person is supporting the possibility of self-driving trucks, it is necessary to understand the negatives of the same.

Self-driving trucks, just like self-driving cars will have plenty of negatives. Nothing is perfect and it is important to discuss the negatives as well. this will not only help you in gaining a different perspective but will also help you notice the areas which need more attention and improvement:

The transition wouldnot be easy:

It is difficult to imagine both driverless trucks and normal trucks on the road. That is so because; this situation would lead to a further set of problems and difficulties. The self-driving trucks would not respond in a normal way to the usual happenings of the road. Even if the AI of the truck is highly developed, it is not necessary that it will be able to judge the behavior of the vehicle ahead. Similarly, there could be more problems with such introduction.

A different kind of risk:

The risk with such vehicles is very different. It is certain that these vehicles will strictly follow the traffic rules. This could ensure much safety, but they are based on software. Due to any technical fault, a single truck can behave randomly on a busy highway and it could lead to a catastrophic accident. A drunk driver is risky but the risks are predictable in this case while in the case of self-driving trucks, they are not.

The off-road danger: Hackers

We cannot forget the possibility of hackers. However, the software and security measures of the self-driving trucks would be highly advanced; the risk of hackers will always be present. It would become easy for terrorists to cause damages, as they would just have to hack a group of trucks. Hacking is not easy but the danger of hacked self-driving trucks is very big.

Employment issues:

When trucks would not need any drivers, it would generate a humongous amount of unemployment. What would the unemployed truck drivers do at that time? It is another major negative of these trucks, which we cannot undervalue. A higher number of unemployed people is never good for any country. Moreover, those drivers could resolve to do strikes or similar activities.

Introduction of new rules:

The government will have to make new traffic rules for self-driving trucks. This will need a significant amount of paper work, effort and time. Such work will also cause hindrances to the workings of the government, as it will have to shift its focus from other areas to this one.

In any case, the arrival of self-driving trucks in the shipping industry will have a number of pros and cons. Still, we have to take care of the negatives, as they are not negligible.