FedEx Freight | Platooning

[Clandestine_ice]

I'll simply say this for the pre age 50 crowd. Where else will you get enough advance notice that you'll eventually be out of a job (career) in roughly a decade. If it were me, I'd take this info and figure out how the hell am I gonna feed myself and my family when, not if, this come to fruition. But, I'd rather be prepared when the :: hits the fan, than be caught with my drawers wrapped around my legs like Big Dave.

 

[vongrimmenstein]

I'll simply say this for the pre age 50 crowd. Where else will you get enough advance notice that you'll eventually be out of a job (career) in roughly a decade. If it were me, I'd take this info and figure out how the hell am I gonna feed myself and my family when, not if, this come to fruition. But, I'd rather be prepared when the :::: hits the fan, than be caught with my drawers wrapped around my legs like Big Dave.

Now, show us 3 trucks backing up to the dock side by side @ the same time. With NO pull ups. One time shot in to the dock. von.

 

[truckingBORED]

FedEx keeps making statements that this technology is much closer to being rolled out than people realize.

My question is, can they force us to platoon? IE, aren't we ultimate responsible for refusing to do something that is unsafe? 1.5 seconds following distance is unsafe.

This crap doesn't work in bad weather, ever. How can a few tests in Florida or Texas provide enough data to verify that this technology won't fail? Are you comfortable betting what's left of your career on it?

Will they fire us if we refuse to platoon?

Will they offer extra compensation for those that volunteer?

Is everyone as gung-ho as Fred and company?

Essentially, this is just another step in the transition to an autonomous society.

When we give up the steering and pedals, we are without means of free movement. If the computers fail, if the power goes out, if we are attacked, if we are on the wrong side of the law, we cannot move ourselves or our families to safety... SMH

Of course the man wants this. Of course it will happen, because the ones controlling the computer, controls you and the ones you love.

 

[dsh69]

I'll simply say this for the pre age 50 crowd. Where else will you get enough advance notice that you'll eventually be out of a job (career) in roughly a decade. If it were me, I'd take this info and figure out how the hell am I gonna feed myself and my family when, not if, this come to fruition. But, I'd rather be prepared when the :::: hits the fan, than be caught with my drawers wrapped around my legs like Big Dave.

Yeah, if you're a Road Driver I'd say the handwritings on the wall. No, not really, but it sounds good.

 

[Big Dave]

We all know what happens when you catch a YRC, XPO, Averitt, etc, it’s takes a minimum of 3 miles to complete a pass!!

Hell with it. Just start a platoon with them..

 

[Big Dave]

But, I'd rather be prepared when the :::::: hits the fan, than be caught with my drawers wrapped around my legs like Big Dave.

No way. I always go commando.

Now being in the 50+ crowd, yes, I've made some bad decisions when I was younger, but I did understand what I had to do financially to set myself up for retirement:
Understood the benefit of health insurance.
Understood the benefit of 401K.
Knew that a pension was unlikely.
Knew Social Security was unlikely.
Got married at 33.
Had my one and only kid at 40(would've liked two).
Not trying to preach here. Not trying to say what I did is the greatest way you should live. And I'm not bagging on any generation because we are all human and make mistakes. But you really need to think about the future when you're younger and plan accordingly.

 

[Dick Dastardly]

Let's look at the entire quote:

"And for those of you wondering what happens to humans in this robotic future, Fred has some words of inspiration. “Don’t be afraid of technology and innovation and robotics. It makes people more productive. It makes goods less expensive. It makes life better.”

It WILL be DIFFERENT. Better? That is just a little bit subjective, and remains to be seen...

Ol' Fred, ever the snake oil salesman. This is like free trade, it only makes life better for a few at the top. I guess when it comes to money too much is never enough.

 

[joes bar and grill]

Let's see the list of deniers who think the fork trucks will still have a seat, and steering wheel, in 5yrs

All you have to do is look inside an Amazon warehouse, no steering wheels there.

 

[joes bar and grill]

Better?

For who?

 

[SwampRatt]

Ol' Fred, ever the snake oil salesman. This is like free trade, it only makes life better for a few at the top. I guess when it comes to money too much is never enough.

And how many small companies can absorb the cost associated with all of this? Much like most regulations, supported by large corporations, the advantage of scale is always a factor. The bigger the company, the more they generally support mandates, of any kind. The negative effect on smaller competitors becomes another advantage, rarely mentioned publicly.

 

[SwampRatt]

I can see both sides of the debate here but let’s all be realistic for a minute...

We all know what happens when you catch a YRC, XPO, Averitt, etc, it’s takes a minimum of 3 miles to complete a pass!! Now let’s factor in all companies participating in platooning (3 trucks each)...in order to complete a pass safely and continue platooning, it’s gonna take at least 10 miles for all three trucks to complete such a pass!!

I can see the motoring public loving this...it’s not like they love us already!! Soon they’ll be a ban on when trucks can platoon (ex: outside a 50 mile radius of any metro) in order not to “obstruct the flow traffic”...it’ll be no different than banning us from the two left lanes even though most of the idiot 4-wheelers ride in the right lanes!!

In such a regulated environment, there will be no such pass. One platoon will fall in behind the other. Efficiency and safety said to rule. Of course, this will create more problems, like you said. When the motoring public can't get over to make an exit (or merge into the flow), imagine the mayhem. Some will force themselves in, while others will slow/stop.

Now then, we'll need dedicated platoon lanes, far left (irony?), at a COST that will shock, even the most free spending among us.

 

[Dick Dastardly]

I know these rich old bastards can't replace us quick enough, but the bottom line is this, this is only gonna get as far as the public will allow.

I know some on here like No F'ing balls, or whatever he calls himself, would have you believe this is some type ancient foretold prophecy coming to fruition that can't be stopped, but that's not true.

I don't believe a lot of these younger generation of people (aka Bernie supporters) will put up with this technology replacing individuals. A lot of their political ideology goes against this very type of thing. I know a lot of their views aren't popular, even with myself included, but maybe they are the ones to finally put a stop to this nonsense.

 

[truckingBORED]

Not to put too fine if a point on it, but we are the boots on the ground. We know more about the road and how it moves than anyone. Instead of relying on a bunch of Bernie's boys to fight this, shouldn't we?

 

[Dick Dastardly]

Not to put too fine if a point on it, but we are the boots on the ground. We know more about the road and how it moves than anyone. Instead of relying on a bunch of Bernie's boys to fight this, shouldn't we?

The simple answer is yes. The realistic answer is it will never happen. There are too many too close to retirement that it will not have any effect on so they could care less.

And then there are those from the older generation who believe this is just the ebbs and flows of life and that we have to roll with it. They have never had to fight for anything in their lives so they don't have the mindset.

After all, this is the generation that squandered away their father's hard fought labor rights.

 

[Redracer3136]

UPS is also testing platooning in conjunction with Volvo so I’m not sure what “squandering away their father’s hard fought labor rights” has to do with it...

 

[Redracer3136]

And how many small companies can absorb the cost associated with all of this? Much like most regulations, supported by large corporations, the advantage of scale is always a factor. The bigger the company, the more they generally support mandates, of any kind. The negative effect on smaller competitors becomes another advantage, rarely mentioned publicly.

How ironic....you blaming the big corporations and taking up for the “little guys” while supporting the ATA (through the TDC), the very organization that lobbies congress in support of the biggest corporations and continuously squashes the “little guy”!!

NOTE: this is not a personal attack, just a general observation

 

[Dick Dastardly]

UPS is also testing platooning in conjunction with Volvo so I’m not sure what “squandering away their father’s hard fought labor rights” has to do with it...

 

[SwampRatt]

How ironic....you blaming the big corporations and taking up for the “little guys” while supporting the ATA (through the TDC), the very organization that lobbies congress in support of the biggest corporations and continuously squashes the “little guy”!!

NOTE: this is not a personal attack, just a general observation

NO. Not really ironic at all.

Actually not "blaming" big Corp. for it. Big Trucking didn't come up with this, but they certainly support it, for obvious reasons.

The ATA, as a representative organization for the trucking industry. Doesn't mean I agree with every position.

I can appreciate the value they provide in areas of Safety, education, & outreach. The TDC, which positively influences thousands, does fall under that column. Also, ATRI provides solid research. Americas Road team tries to inform the public about trucks and safety. Public opinion does matter. A lot.

They also advocate for drivers, on issues of significance. The only thing close to representation that most truck drivers have.

I guess the Irony you speak of is in the fact that I can also understand the business side. Big companies contribute big money for representation. They, understandably, have big influence. Fair enough, IMHO. Also Ironic, I guess... I can disagree on much of their political narrative, and still support the good parts, for the good reasons.

Isn't that reasonable?

 

[dsh69]

I'll simply say this for the pre age 50 crowd. Where else will you get enough advance notice that you'll eventually be out of a job (career) in roughly a decade. If it were me, I'd take this info and figure out how the hell am I gonna feed myself and my family when, not if, this come to fruition. But, I'd rather be prepared when the :::: hits the fan, than be caught with my drawers wrapped around my legs like Big Dave.

If you watch it you'll realize that there will be very few places this will work. Certainly not many places in the East. And each truck still needs a driver to take over when the platooning software disengages.

The only advantage is fuel savings.

 

[truckingBORED]

The fuel savings hype used to sell this technology is negligible at anything resembling a safe distance.

They claim the braking response time of the system is 333 milliseconds. A driver's reaction is about 1.5 second. (Perception + reaction).

So, assuming this Pelaton Platooning system eliminates all of that 1.5 seconds from the minimum safe distance of a set of doubles traveling above 60 mph on dry roads, which is 6 seconds, the closest safe following distance should still be 4.5 seconds.

4.5 seconds of following distance at 60 mph is 396 feet.

The maximum advertised fuel savings at a scant 40-50' feet is only 4% for the lead truck and 10% for the other truck. Or 7% combined. At ten times that distance (or an appropriate following distance), fuel savings are negligible.

At the absurd and unsafe distance of 45' on a 500 mile run, if platooning constantly (which can't happen) a truck will only save 5 gallons of fuel.

Please be aware that this is an unsafe and unproven technology. It's only purpose is to provide a segway to fully autonomous vehicles that will replace us, the professional driver.

When the Suites show up at your center with a great video presentation of this system and announce that you're the lucky ones who were chosen to test this out, refuse! I sure am.