SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill to require human drivers on board self-driving trucks, a measure that union leaders and truck drivers said would save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state.

  • MooseBoys@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    union leaders and truck drivers said would save hundreds of thousands of jobs

    There might be good reasons to have human drivers in autonomous trucks, at least for a while. But “saving jobs” is not one of them.

    • spitfire
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      9 months ago

      It certainly is one of them. You can’t virtually close an entire sector of jobs all at once without serious repercussions to the economy.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Yeah, if it comes with a tapering requirement over several years I think it’s an excellent idea that saves jobs and also helps ensure safety.

        • spitfire
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          9 months ago

          Target. Walmart, Amazon, UPS,Lays, Annheiser-Bush …just a few companies who have already begun testing automated replacements. If you think they aren’t all biting at the bit to pull the trigger on this the second they can, you’re naive. They’ll see insane overhead price reductions and increased productivity, all leading to higher profit margins. The slow change already started years ago. You can retrofit an existing big rig for less than half the salary of a driver and utilize 3x the work hours.

          • Amju Wolf@pawb.social
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            9 months ago

            And they’re going to produce thousands of those trucks in a month. And have them unescorted. Makes no sense.

      • blterrible@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        There’s going to be a lot of conservative men clamoring for UBI, or more likely, cutting off their own nose to spite their face.