With fully autonomous driving becoming closer to reality, it is important to see how it affects America's trucking industry. Between the mass savings companies can incur from removing truck drivers and the climate benefits from using electric trucks.
However, the ones who suffer the most from the advancement in technology are truck drivers themselves. With autonomous trucks being created and tested by multiple start-up companies, the role of the truck driver will change or become obsolete. With the United States implementing legislation to allow advancements in autonomous trucking, truck drivers will struggle to keep their job or be forced to have a lower wage.
The role of a truck driver will shift to a technician's role for safety reasons as trucks will still need assistance in city spaces and if the technology fails. Though that will constitute a significant decrease in pay which brings the question of whether is it ethical to take away a high-paying job for the sake of automation.