What are you afraid of? American Trucks are 20 years behind European ones. Dont worry. This will take more than 20 years to come over to the states....

Not w/all foreign ownd coastal& farm land here& fact th@ affordabl 'Fixer Upper' homes in lower price range that cld be StarterHome (espec under $40,to70,000) selling "CASH ONLY" or frequently $25-40,000 range 5-7homes sold ONLY as "BUNDLE" for Investor. Further, majority of properties are noted to be "AS IS" & result of "Hurricane Sandy" & used 2 b "Katrina" damage. ?Do u realizeRoyalBlueBloodsStill around in European & Mideast Oil$$ countries?
Anyway, use any RealEstate Search & can see "CashOnly" & "investmentBundle" properties all around country/USA & appear over time follow'g flood/natural disasters. If i didnt know better I'd say it appeared as if alleged NannyState zoning laws allegedly 4 public safety as alleged preclude the 'Little Guy' from acquiring financing & buying 1stHome Fixer Upper. ?Doesn't that sound (if i didnt know better I'd say it appeared as if)... doesn't that sound familiar & the way small/medium independent Truckers & Farmers are being squeezed out of our allegedly Free Market Economy? Like the sign said by Receptionist @one outfit where used to work, "Smile; you could be replaced by a button." ?Does this mean auto cops & 'your ticket's in mail'? NotLOL
But, siriusly, as noted in article it must "SEE LINE" & how often are dashed & Shoulder SOLID LINES either obscured by snow, heavy rain, ice, blowing snow/dust? I can tell u now 103+mile Marks i77 experiences flash flood across lanes in both directions by WV state cap'. ? Wld u want driverless rig along River in heavy traffic area there when adverse weather probable?!?
And 'showtime' yup, sounds nice brave new world & if includes onboard toilet, sink/shower &built-in coffeePot/-or/microwave & 1-BurnerNuWave, Ok I cld get behind that... but we still dont even hav toilet/sink standard since inception new rules & alleged security concerns that brought CTPAT since 9/11 & with flood tide of illegals.
I pray u r right, Showtime.

Typo... where say 'Showtime' should say 'inside Trucker'

Two Words...Maximum Overdrive.

I agree it's just another way to screw the driver out of more money, as if the pay for the job we do isn't low enough. Also agree that if anything goes wrong with the truck the driver will be the fall guy "back up" . I have driven a truck with lane departure system and it malfunctioned constantly, it would pick up dark spots in the highly traveled part of the lane or in areas of road construction and you would have to repeatedly hit the over ride switch. Not to mention the collision avoidance system... what a joke it malfunctioned several times picking up the car in the lane beside me who was slowing down to exit the freeway and it slammed the brakes, scaring the cap out of me and had me looking in the mirror to make sure no one had hit me in the rear. It would also disable your cruise control when it malfunctioned and you had to find somewhere to pull over and restart the truck to get cruise back. What a pain; it did NOT make my job safer NOR did it take away Any stress, it created problems instead.

Indie trucker, of or takes the same care as driving one then why not drive it...and own the fleet..this is a death sentence to anyone in the path of it malfunctions. Technology is not the key to safer highways..training and pride on your job is...

Training and pride good call!
Trucking companies need to be more selective in hiring drivers, too many NDF's out there!

You guys misread the article. There has to be a driver inside to be the fall guy just in case the system malfunctions. Ya can't put a truck in jail but you can put a driver in jail.

Yeah, but your relaxing in a recliner, snoozing, playing video games, or talking on the net.....reaction time is so far out there, you and God knows who are dead before you can sit up!

aaahh... but u 4got RoboAstronaut rolled oout on a different page in HiScience news which cited RoboAstronaut to hav other applications "in medical"/surg & "manufacturing" & other applications(?highway transport?) & is designed for a finely tuned PRECISION environment.
RoboAstronaut was in Science news few day ago & while back. Plus, they've already rolled out electric smart cars for the visually challenged/blind in a very few certain spots in major metro cities touting it as part of cleaner greener city & revitalization of hard hit cities by 2008 bank crash & cuts pollution & conserves energy & water bcaus not water cooled engine.
Does soouund attractive/nifty tho, doesn't it?

Yeah, and you can put your company in jail if your "automated" truck malfunctions on you.

all your comments are just showing how much of a low life grupe we can be show some class and keep the vulgarity to the parking lot!!!

Just as soon as you learn to spell / You must be one of the so called low class truckers yourself.

I don't know, I kind of like the possibility of being a "transport manager". Seems to me you'd be responsible for several large trucks at once, it would be a much higher paid position theoretically due to the technical knowledge needed to operate the systems. Just because a system is automated doesn't mean it takes any less care or observation to run. Closest I'll ever get to spaceship captain I dare say.

so if theoretically you will be in charge of several trucks at a time that would mean that there will be less drivers (employees) needed. we are already facing a high unemployment rate as it is. automated trucks will only make it worse. we need to shut down our borders and stop immigrants from coming to our country taking jobs that belong to Americans. United States is already over populated.

Good. No need for the dot..and let the truck kill a family because it can't react to traffic..technology cannot replace an experienced driver...period...let them do what they want...

Just wait till the trucks radar/computer system has a glitch, goes into "error", fails to recognize a sudden traffic jam and rams into stopped vehicles killing families...Daimler you have just created the "Frankentruck"...happy now?...greedy bastards

Agree, why didnt OverDrive include the negative side of this technology? If these trucks are already on the road in other countries then where are the Stats on Accidents, Malfunctions resulting in injuries and or deaths.

Cool toy will Plaintiff's lawyers all sue Daimler? Well least that finally (re)solves detention pay . . . . . .

Really ducks that they got to go to computers to make roads safer for truck drivers. If the government would put more pressure on the common driver to be more attentive and educated on driving and less into multi tasking other skills than driving it may be a safer road for all, that being said if law enforcement agencies follow suit and set examples in not multi tasking and then trying to enforce it on a driver. Need lead by example and enforce laws already in place. By the way just nother way to fuck a driver out of being paid fairly.

WELP, we're fucked.

Relax, we all be gone by the time US pairs up.

We got a ways to go before that happens at least twenty yrs for me at 47 I'll catch the beginning stages of that but it will be a plus for the new and up coming drivers lucky baster and lazy fucks lol

You realize 20 years ago, cell phones were large bricks that only did calls, most people had pagers. Just saying, technology moves faster than you think.

I just think its scary and it will put alot of guys out of work but who knows it might be a good thing

?Do u belive driverless trk 20yrs away when big elite USPS/?Swifft?FEDX fleets can afford &may get tax break to add RoboAstronaut drivrr.
?Wher in Europe r the highways super hundreds of miles long OTR "boring stretches" of with 40-50 miles to next public bathroom or gas station &refreshments? Sheeesh!
American Trucker doesn't call it "boring".
American Trucker calls it OPEN ROAD affording lots of
Big Sky Country WINDSHIELD roads & little or no traffic & mountain views. Oh yeah, & where Rest Areas warn folk new(foreign) folk to region's Rest Areas with signs
for 'Rattle Snakes' & also has a designated & labeled Dumpster for 'P' Bottles. Yippee. And that's how I knew for sure that I cld really call myself trucker bcause thru good bit of Canada & all 48 states any number of times vs.majority east of i35 &one-timer thru MT &back to Denver & LA/San Diego &eastbound again. Finally made it to Pacific Northwest & learned that had to hav Passport, hazmat, etc to make planning computer(& 'bottom line$') happy with solo driver versus Team going far Northwest. Also, if u pay couple hundred for preclearance background for ports, you do yourself a favor & will sit less as solo trucker.
Additionally, think about it, if there's disaster, pandemic, the NewMadrid pops & alters Mississippi & shape of Gulf of Mexico or martial law for 'x' reason, the American Trucker traveling from one Metro City to another, etc., could be about only civilian motor vehicle rolling the Big Road.
As several other veteran truckers hav remarked, glad I had a chance 2 b trucker over open road b4 it turns into bus driving or some other harsh necessary future reality.
Could always move to Australia but it sounds as if multi trailers they run thru Outback might be more likely to see testing of Driverless+RoboAstronaut(robotDroid) truck. Yup. Kangaroos watch out!

you're at this in a selfish way. like looking at the world thru a pin hole. think One-World-Order. and that will effect you personally. all the pieces are falling into place

So I guess you can log it off duty, being as your relaxing in a recliner?
Only time you have to log is when YOU are at the controls?????
Glad I'll be out of trucking by then!

"much like an airline pilot"...Except airways are 8 miles wide and construction free!

Anyone remember that "Simpsons" episode where Homer becomes a trucker and the truck had an automated computer that took control of the truck and saved Homers life every time he fell asleep at the wheel? We all laughed back then didn't we? I bet that Simpsons episode won't seem too funny now

That's awesome! They will probably be the future of driving.

LOL,,,,,What happens when one these blows a steer tire???

I just wonder if an error happens can u still over ride a runaway tractor...or will it take a few deaths to stop it...then who's at fault for an error..The driver will be for not doing his inspection...I'll stick to my own driving thankyou..

What a joke

so why are there mirrors and a windshield and a cab and seats?

Did you read the article?

No kidding. It says right in the article that "A driver remains at the control — much like an airline pilot while an aircraft is on autopilot — to take over whenever necessary."

Yes! It says "Once Highway Pilot is activated, the truck driver is able to rotate his
seat 45 degrees to the passenger side of the vehicle to a working
position or recline into a rest position. The driver can then use a
tablet computer to work on other tasks or communicate with the outside
world."
So your relaxing in a recliner, turned away from the controls, doing God knows what. At least a pilot has a few minutes to react, you have mill-a-seconds......your dead and who did you take with you? No thanks.

The company will still need a fall guy to be behind the steering wheel to take the rap when the technology fails (and it *will* fail) because the company owner certainly isn't going to go to prison when his vehicle malfunctions and kills people.

The dummy napping in the front seat will go to prison.

Kevin,
I don't care if your napping, or playing/working on the computer. If your rotated away from the controls and not paying attention to the vehicle, you need to be replaced. You are dead, just don't know it!
Yes they will malfunction, and people will be injured or killed. You can't replace drivers with technology without endangering peoples lives.

Just like the automated takeoff/landing systems used by all airlines, who gets the blame when the aircraft comes in too hot or low and tries to land 1000' short of the runway?

The airlines will call it pilot error, never a failure of the technology.

The airport in San Fran, where the pilots crashed the plane when the atac beacon was supposedly not working, basically admit on forgetting the procedure on how to land the plane manually.???
Now, lets apply that to trucking.....

Really sucks that it's coming to this!