For long haul you'd still want someone riding in the cab who can do basic maint I think, plus off loading the truck a lot of the times is the duty of the driver. Some companies advertise 'never tarp again!' because tarping your load on flatbeds is the driver's responsibility. Also for in-transit maint airlines need repair, trailer power needs to be checked especially for reefers. I'm not sure about otr truckers but for ltl the driver is offloading trailer.
I can see the training and responsibilities shift as things become more automated, but for what a driver costs, I can't see them getting rid of an incab person for otr trips which leave the city. The response time and costs for fixing minor maint like a broken air line would be crazy. Also someone gotta fill those tanks up.
Why would you have the driver ride along for the long-haul, rather than have the truck drive autonomously between cities and then pick up a driver once it gets to the destination metro area for last-mile/unloading/maintenance?
The bulk of the time (= labor costs) from trucking is on the interstates, and as an added perk, this would allow truckers to work 9-5 and stay close to their families rather than being on the road all the time.
Using a mix of automated and human drivers (aka, the AI is one half of a team) seems like a great way to go. Consider that there is very little freight that goes longer than 500 mi without either being on a team or on the rail.
Professional driving comes with hours limitations. In most industrialised countries you can't work more than so-and-so many hours driving without so-and-so many hours of rest (I don't know what the US rules are but I know they have them). But as just a passenger, aboard the truck but not driving it, you aren't using up those precious hours.
I can see this making sense where the driver also has some skilled role at both ends, e.g. supervising loading and unloading of a particular type of cargo. Otherwise it may be just as sensible to build giant truck parking lots at key locations on big highways and have a human board trucks when they get to the closest lot to the final destination. In that model all truck drivers would go home every day, which means it's a less well paid job but also one that's more compatible with having a life outside work - long distance trucking would become something trucks do but drivers don't.
>But as just a passenger, aboard the truck but not driving it, you aren't using up those precious hours.
This is inaccurate. If you are sitting in the passenger seat you are classified as "On-Duty Not Driving"
You are only 'resting' (aka "Off-Duty") when you are in the bunk.
This however is frequently violated and widely ignored, as there is no enforcement mechanism, when I teamed, I'd do my 8 hours of sleep, then come up at sit with my co-driver and talk with him about the day ahead as he drove until it was time to stop
