After companies such as Google, Uber and Enterprise have tested and launched self-driving automobiles with the main aim of staying current with trends and maximizing profit, the public sector has also taken the bold step into the trend. A San Diego startup company is currently helping the Post Office to deliver mails and parcels to doorsteps without a driver.
Currently, the startup company, Tusimple has launched a two-week test between Dallas and Phoenix, while using self-driving trucks to move mails between both cities. Throughout the test period, an engineer and a safety driver will be on board to supervise the process and take action in case of a misadventure. The self-driving trucks will not be carrying out door-to-door mail deliveries until the first phase which is made up of five round trips between Dallas and Phoenix as a means to assess how well the trucks can handle highway driving and also calculate how much funds the process saved. There will also be experts who will monitor all cargos on board as soon as deliveries start.
The first phase made up of five round trips between Phoenix and Dallas is about 2,100 miles which is longer than the distance a human driver can go without making a stop which is the perk of the new test. The self-driving trucks will be traveling interstates in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico without concerns for fatigue and are theoretically capable of working nonstop except to refuel.
This technological advent in transportation is a messiah as it comes right when there is a report of truck drivers shortage by the American Trucking Association. The deficit is reported to spike up to 200, 000 by 2024. Considering that a broad category of goods is transported by trucks, this shortage will create a massive backlog in the supply of essential items, including food and medical supplies.
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