A group of Seattle tech veterans recently released a proposal to introduce a driverless ribbon of highway I-5 stretching from Seattle to Vancouver they are calling “The Cascadia Corridor.” The suggested plan released by Madrona venture Group, could be phased in over a decade and could allow self-driving vehicles in dedicated car-pool lanes in off-peak hours to start.
The news comes at a time when Seattle and Vancouver are working to strengthen ties between the two cities. They have so much in common despite the 140 miles separating them.
The move towards driverless cars has been a long and bumpy one, and one that has seen a few resurgences and rebirths over the last several decades. However, with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, recently announcing his re-commitment to driverless vehicles of all types in his Master Plan Part Deux, Americans would be smart to accept that it is no longer a matter of when, but how well we’re able to accommodate and regulate these vehicles to ensure the safety and efficiency of these transport fleets.
The government will soon release regulations governing these new vehicles. In the meantime, companies like Google and Tesla are racing to make their own vehicles and test them while it’s still legal and easy to do so.
It’s the true rise of the machines, where drivers will be relegated to their role of fleet managers, perhaps at the front of a line of driverless drone vehicles, or just tagging along for maintenance issues that crop up. The American Trucking Associations predicts that the shortage of drivers could grow to as much as 175,000 by 2024 – a possibility that is pushing logistics companies to rethink their strategies.
With the driver shortage growing larger year by year companies and products that can provide solutions to this serious problem facing our trucking industry should be applauded.
Photo Credit
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Guest Author Bio
Christine Rudolph
Christine Rudolph is a passionate blogger who loves to write on prevailing trends. She is a featured author at various authoritative blogs and magazines. For more updates follow her on Twitter @RudolphBlogger.
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