Last week, a bill aiming to prevent any use of driverless commercial trucks in California was approved by the state Committee on Communications and Conveyance. Authored by Assembly Members Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) and Asm. Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), it had previously been supported earlier this year when passed through the California Assembly Transportation Committee.
AB316 is seeking to ensure the safety of public roads by banning autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight exceeding 10,000 pounds from transporting goods or passengers without a human operator onboard.
In anticipation of the hearing, an impressive list of business organizations and companies ranging from large to small voiced their disapproval for AB316. Amongst those were Institute for Safer Trucking, CalChamber, California Small Business Association, US Xpress, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, California Hispanic Chamber, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce as well as Californian AV firms- all joining in unison against this proposed bill.
“… AB316 continues to be an effective ban on this life-saving technology with no pathway for Californians to benefit from autonomous trucks,” the group wrote in its letter. “… supporters of AB316 have shown zero evidence that AV trucks are unsafe or will cause mass layoffs of truck drivers. This committee is being asked to take action based on nothing more than speculation.”
In 2021 alone, California reported more than 4,250 fatalities on the state’s roads, more than 10% of which involved a large truck. Jeff Farrah, executive director of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, believes that autonomous trucks would increase the safety on the roads by eliminating human errors that can occur when a driver is impaired, distracted, or drowsy.
“California’s safety officials and law enforcement are the experts qualified to oversee this technology, but unfortunately AB316 disrupts this process,” Farrah said. “We are disappointed that the committee moved AB316 forward, and we will continue to oppose this premature ban on AV trucks as it continues to move through the legislative process.”
While AB316 continues to pass through California’s legislature, the California Department of Motor Vehicles is currently contemplating a regulatory framework that would permit autonomous vehicles exceeding 10,000 pounds on the state’s roads without consent from the state legislature – possibly within a year.
Despite being a home to some of the world’s most advanced autonomous technologies, California has yet to join 22 other states in allowing testing of driverless vehicles on their roads. As companies from around the globe move closer and closer towards commercial viability for this technology, regulations currently have left state officials with many Californian tech firms sitting out until an answer is found that strikes a balance between safety and innovation.
Source: CCJDigital
