Trucker
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Challenges
Trucking companies reportedly face looming driver shortages; long-haul driving is exhausting and long hours behind the wheel are unsafe for truck drivers. Opportunities Trucking has been modernizing at a steady pace. Many truck routes are regular, enabling reliable scheduling. Trucking companies already take advantage of multi-modal transport, using railroads to transport trailers over the long haul and tractors for the "first and last miles." However, since railroads don't go everywhere and freight trains don't travel at all hours, the long-haul / first-and-last-mile paradigm is a good candidate for adoption by CAV Systems. CAV Systems will offer trucks the opportunity to use full automation on long-haul segments and drivers on first-and-last-mile segments. Observant readers will notice that this paradigm has already been described here as "dual mode." In addition, many trucks can travel at off-peak hours and freight-hauling companies might find it cost-effective to build CAVWAY extensions; Note also that some commercial trucking firms already use "convoys" (platoons) to take advantage of drafting to save energy. The small truck angle Many delivery vehicles have less than three axles; they are not tractor-trailer combinations. While such vehicles may not carry human travelers, they may qualify as normal-size CAVs. Such CAVs might exhibit time-of-travel flexibility that enables load-reduction at peak hours. |
Commercial trucking companies have already observed the advantages of platooning and controlled space. Such specialized and relatively homogeneous communities of motorized vehicles may be early adopters of integrated system-engineering concepts and provide leadership to the mass-transit community.
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