Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/649008
38 | Overdrive | March 2016 TOMORROW'S TRUCKER GET INTO YOUR COMFORT ZONE GET INTO YOUR COMFORT ZONE Configure yours today at www.bostromseating.com Wide Ride Core Since 1935 1-800-459-7328 | www.facebook.com/bostromseating O P T I O N A L " S M A R T " D U M P + M E M O R Y V AL VE Even as autonomous trucks assume more driving functions, no one is pre- dicting when – if ever – an on-highway truck that's not part of a platoon would operate without any human control or backup. For that reason, fleets will con- tinue to value drivers with good experi- ence and safety records. "I don't see [automation] replacing the person behind the steering wheel in my lifetime," says David Heller, head of regulatory affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association. Instead, truckers will become "efficiency czars" charged with ensuring trucks perform as effi- ciently as possible, Heller says. Remote diagnostics will help owner- operators avoid downtime and save money on repair costs. "Technology will be able to self-diagnose and tell owner-operators 'Here's [the part] I need,' " Andersky says. Continued introduction of so much next-gen truck equipment will contrib- ute to a major demographic shift in the driver pool, Roeth says. Younger tech-savvy operators might replace today's typical drivers, more than half of whom are older than 45, accord- ing to the American Transportation Research Institute. "Technology in general is so important to Millennials," Roeth says of the generation born dur- ing the 15 or 20 years following the early 1980s. "As these trucks become more automated and more technical, I think that generation will be more willing to operate them. These will be cool high-tech trucks. They'll be sustainable and use a lot less fuel. [Truckers] will be communicating and using social media [while driv- ing]. That generation isn't into diag- nosing [modern technology], but they're very capable of using it." However, Roeth says, operators still will be responsible for a large piece of equipment and the duties that come with it, such as load securement and pre- and post-trip inspections. Even those tasks, as well as other routine ones, might be subject to auto- mation, says Paul Menig, chief execu- tive officer of Tech-I-M, a technology and management consulting firm. "I could get out of the truck at the fuel island, say 'goodbye truck' – I am now relieved of duty," Menig says. "The truck would finish fueling, finish getting its diesel exhaust fluid, do its diagnostics check, and then it would go park itself. And I can go get in line for a shower."