Colorado Deploys Self-Driving Crash Trucks To Protect Highway Workers (denvergazette.com)
- Reference: 0179634018
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/10/02/2156215/colorado-deploys-self-driving-crash-trucks-to-protect-highway-workers
- Source link: https://www.denvergazette.com/2025/09/30/self-driving-cdot-crash-truck-protects-highway-workers/
> At a press event in Falcon on Monday, the Colorado Department of Transportation demonstrated an autonomous truck-mounted attenuator -- a driverless crash-protection vehicle designed to absorb impacts in roadside work areas. These trucks are already in the state's fleet, but previously required a worker in the cab, leaving them exposed during crashes. "These vehicles are designed to get hit so people don't have to," said Kay Kelly, CDOT's chief of innovative mobility. "We want to remove the human from that truck whenever possible."
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> [...] Colorado pioneered this technology in 2017, becoming the first state to test it. Developed by San Diego-based defense contractor Kratos Defense, the company started on autonomous follower systems in 2012 and installed its initial version in Colorado in 2013, according to Maynard Factor, Kratos' vice president of business development. The system uses sensors, actuators, and video links, allowing the unmanned crash truck to trail directly behind a paint-striping or maintenance vehicle. The lead vehicle records its route and transmits navigation data to the follower. Both are equipped with global positioning system and communication tools, with the lead driver monitoring via video feed.
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> "It's a convoy system," Factor said. "The leader does the work, while the driverless vehicle mirrors its path. This protects the operator with the crash truck instead of sitting inside it." Sensors detect objects darting into the lane, triggering an automatic stop. Operators can pause or override via a user interface featuring forward-facing cameras on the autonomous truck and rear-facing ones on the work vehicle. The trucks, existing state assets, are driven to sites and then switched to autonomous mode. Outfitting each with the technology costs about $1 million, excluding the base vehicle and crash absorber.
[1] https://www.denvergazette.com/2025/09/30/self-driving-cdot-crash-truck-protects-highway-workers/
When I was a kid garbage trucks had two guys (Score:2)
One to pick up the garbage and another to drive the truck. It's one guy now.
This is one less job in the world. And nothing on the horizon to replace it. By itself it's a minor thing but we've been automating Blue collar work in the factories for 45 years now. 70% of the middle class jobs lost in that time got taken by automation and process improvement not outsourcing.
We are entering an era of at least 20% permanent unemployment maybe more. We will of course wallpaper over it with statistical games
Re: (Score:2)
> We are entering an era of at least 20% permanent unemployment maybe more. We will of course wallpaper over it with statistical games like we're doing right now.
This has always been the prediction of Luddites, that technology would displace workers and that new jobs would never emerge. The Luddites have always been wrong for the last two centuries ... at least so far. The only thing that would make the unemployment rate permanently 20% is something that prevents the creation of new jobs. The sunsetting of job types has always happened, way before the industrial revolution. As long as entrepreneurs and inventers are allowed to do their thing, new types of jobs w
Wrong since the Stone Age (Score:2)
> The Luddites have always been wrong for the last two centuries
They've been wrong since the end of the stone age when bronze technology made all the flint knappers redundant. It's just that we did not know to call them Luddites back then.
Re: (Score:2)
Clearly, you live in a well-off neighborhood. Where I live, in an apparently more normal-income neighborhood, our garbage trucks have THREE people: a driver and TWO in the back, slinging trash cans.
YOUR apparently cushy life (and your trash truck driver's cushy life) isn't replicated everywhere. There's no reason to assume that because your trash company can afford high-priced automated trucks, means that everybody else can.
That's the problem with all these AI doom and gloom prophecies. They discount the *h
I'm somewhat confused why it's autonomous (Score:2)
I'm familiar with attenuator trucks - I see them at highway work zones all the time. They're parked in a position to block a drunk / high / sleepy / inattentive driver from plowing into the workers. It's a great thing that protects the workers while giving the driver a good chance of survival too.
But, point is, they're parked .
So what is really gained by making these autonomous?
Re: (Score:1)
Some tasks are done by moving convoys. The summary mentions paint striping, and things like tar spraying on cracks and pothole filling are often done by vehicles that move frequently or constantly.
Cost effective? (Score:3)
I get that safety needs to be a top priority, but $1M seems steep for what could be a drive-by-wire system.
Re: (Score:2)
And $1M per truck will be a sufficient financial deterrent that will prevent this technology from wiping out the jobs of human drivers.
Re:Cost effective? (Score:4, Insightful)
I think it is a little more complicated and specialized than a drive by wire system, but if it avoids one injury from a state worker it likely pays for itself economically.
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Drive-by-wire? From the description, it almost sounds like all they need is a trailer to be pulled behind the primary vehicle. Maybe with a fancy hitching mechanism to give it more separation, but still, self-driving seems like overkill for this application.
20t dump truck filled with gravel. (Score:2)
Now that will protect workers at a fraction of the cost.
Re: (Score:2)
The crash trucks our state uses have a rack of plastic water barrels on the back. The dope hitting it stands a better chance of survival. As does the crash truck driver. And for long distance travel between job sites, much easier to lighten the load and save guzzoline.
Re: (Score:2)
Where I worked, a Post Office box was run over about every two weeks because.. well.. where people drive and park. He got sick of fixing it so He made a concrete block that was about 5x5x5 with forklift slots at the bottom and set it next to the mailbox. All of a sudden, there was no problem with the mailbox anymore. I'm just saying that putting a 5x5x5 concrete block around the workers may be more cost effective than a big truck.