How Will Self-Driving Trucks Affect Fuel Management Systems and Strategies?

The question is no longer if self-driving trucks will exist. They are already on the road, as demonstrated in this short video showcasing the collaboration between Uber’s subsidiary, Otto, and Budweiser.

The question now is how self-driving trucks will affect fuel management systems and strategies.

You Can Speculate

Since no one has the ability to accurately predict the future, there can only be speculation based on what is known to be true at this point. If you are going to speculate when exploring all the ways technology changes fleet management forever, fact-based speculation is best, rather than philosophical and agenda-based speculation.

For instance, the perennial issue that accompanies changes in technology is “lost jobs.” While there is some justification for this question based on fear of the unknown and of the potential of not being able to earn a living, the evidence continues to suggest that, while some jobs may be lost, most are either transformed or replaced by other jobs.

If you watched just the first 90 seconds of the above video, you likely learned that, although there are approximately three million truck drivers in the U.S., there are not nearly enough to fill either the current or growing demand for drivers. The Washington Post cited a shortage of 30,000 drivers in 2013. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected a steady five percent growth in the need for drivers between now and 2024. The Bureau notes: “As the economy grows, the demand for goods will increase and more truck drivers will be needed to keep supply chains moving.”

The video also referred to the driver as the “driver/ monitor.” That does not eliminate a job. It transforms the job. In fact, it makes the job similar to that of an airline pilot. Planes require a pilot to perform takeoffs and landings but, once in the air, the autopilot can take over.

At this point and for the foreseeable future, it would appear that there will be an increased demand for drivers although, as self-driving trucks become more prevalent, the role of the driver/ monitor will likely change somewhat.

You Can Strategize

Automotive Fleet published an interesting and well-developed article in 2013 explaining salient strategic issues of self-driving vehicles. Those issues include:

• Fewer accidents. There is no debate – and it is documented in the video – that drivers are the number one cause of accidents. “In 2012 in the US, 330,000 large trucks were involved in crashes that killed nearly 4,000 people, most of them in passenger cars. About 90 percent of those were caused by driver error.”
• Fewer repairs and reduced insurance rates. Fleet managers should expect – and make it their goal – to see an economic benefit as a result of the safer operations of a self-driving fleet.
• Driver role changes. When fleet vehicles are on autopilot, drivers can be utilized for other tasks. That could also mean that long-haul vehicles could be driven to a drop-off point where the driver sets the autopilot and exits the vehicle, perhaps to drive another vehicle back to the terminal.
• Efficient routing. Whether long-haul or local delivery, vehicle-to-control center and vehicle-to-vehicle telemetry could save the industry millions of dollars in fuel efficiency by automated routing and rerouting, as circumstances change on the route to the destination.
• Fuel efficiency. Self-driving trucks operate on digital data, but they will also transmit data for analytical purposes. That data can be used to more precisely control vehicular fuel consumption based upon multiple business, route, and individual vehicle factors.
• Increased productivity. Successful logistics are about business productivity. Self-driving trucks are a means to that end.

Just as no man is an island, neither is any one of these issues. It is the combined synergy that will affect fuel management and efficiency. Self-driving vehicles are not being developed as novelty items. They are being designed, tested, and proven to benefit the transportation industry. These vehicles are on the road and on the way. Now is the time to study their potential for your fleet and strategize for more efficient operations.