Perceptions on the Future of Automation in r/Truckers

New developments in automation have led to discussions about the impact that autonomous trucks will have on the trucking industry. However, there is a lack of literature on truck drivers’ perceptions of automation. To gain an understanding of the trucking community’s sentiments towards automation, we analyzed member discussions related to automation in the r/Truckers subreddit. Among the comments we analyzed, concerns about the feasibility of automation were popular and, in general, community members expressed negative perspectives on automation in trucking. This was corroborated by our findings that only 0.98% (9/915) comments had positive views on automation. Speculations on when automation of any degree will take place in the trucking industry varied, but the view that automation would eventually happen but not for a long time was the most common. To conclude, we highlight a need to support and empower truck drivers through the significant changes facing this industry.