In a blow to the self-driving trucking industry, the California Senate passed a bill Monday that would require a trained human safety operator to be present any time a heavy-duty self-driving vehicle is operating on public roads in the state. In fact, the bill bans self-driving trucks.
AB 316, which passed the Senate on a 36-2 vote, still needs Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature before it becomes law. Newsom has a reputation for being friendly to the tech industry, and is expected to veto AB 316. In August, a senior adviser to the governor He wrote a letter To Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the bill’s author, who opposes the legislation. Such restrictions on self-driving trucking would not only undermine existing regulations, but could also limit supply chain innovation and efficiency and hinder California’s economic competitiveness, the letter said.
Advocates of the bill, which was first introduced in January, argue that having more control over removing safety drivers from self-driving trucks would protect California road users and ensure job security for truck drivers.
“Autonomous vehicle companies have lost billions of dollars to the autonomous vehicle space over the past few years, and are now trying to appease their investors by pushing unsafe and inadequate products on the public,” said Jason Rabinowitz, president of Teamsters Joint Council 7. In the current situation. “These corporate elites have absolutely no regard for the safety or prosperity of the communities they would put in harm’s way. Governor Newsom needs to take the right action on Californians – not these companies – immediately.
Autonomous vehicle companies and industry representatives say the bill would not only defeat the purpose of driverless technology, but also hinder the advancement of technology that could save lives. Opponents of AB 316 point to 5,788 truck crashes Deaths Which occurred in 2021, an increase of 47% over 10 years. They compare this statistic to zero deaths caused by autonomous vehicle trucks in more than two years of reporting and tens of millions of miles driven on public roads.
Naturally, there was a human safety factor behind the wheel for almost all of those miles driven.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency charged with providing testing and deployment permits for autonomous vehicles in the state, currently enforces a ban on autonomous vehicles weighing more than 10,001 pounds in the state. AB 316 was written in anticipation of the DMV lifting this ban. It prevents the agency from being able to sign off on independent trucking companies removing a driver for testing or deployment purposes, a power the agency has had since 2012.
The bill’s authors previously told TechCrunch that they don’t want to prevent driverless trucks from arriving in California forever — just until the Legislature is convinced it’s safe enough to remove the driver.
According to the bill’s language, the DMV would now need to provide evidence of safety to policymakers. By January 1, 2029, or five years after testing begins (whichever comes first), the DMV will need to submit a report to the state evaluating the performance of autonomous vehicle technology and its impact on public safety and employment in the trucking sector. The report will include information such as disengages and accidents, as well as a recommendation on the need for human safety operators in heavy-duty autonomous vehicles.
After approval, the DMV will have to wait another year before issuing permits. This means California may not see self-driving trucks operating without a human in the front seat until 2030 at the earliest.
“The DMV opposes AB 316 because it will not increase safety, and in fact will have a chilling effect on the development of technology in California that is intended to increase the safety benefits on our roadways,” the DMV said in a statement.