California regulators have announced a new proposal to allow testing of heavy trucks that are self-driving on public roads.
State Automobile Bureau announcement Regulations were proposed on Friday to allow testing of driverless trucks over 10,001 pounds, opening the door for businesses to test autonomous driving technology on vehicles the size of RAM or Ford Super Duty Pickup trucks.
Regulators say other states, including Texas, Arizona and Arkansas, have already been tested for heavy-duty autonomous trucks. California is the only state with regulations that explicitly prohibit them.
Proposed regulations Posted onlineThis is subject to the public comment period ending in June.
They will face pushbacks from safety advocates and trade unions representing hundreds of thousands of commercial truck drivers in the state who are concerned about losing truck driving jobs to automation in the future.
The California Legislature passed a bill in 2023 to require human drivers on self-driving semi-trailer trucks, but was rejected by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said that additional regulations were not necessary because existing laws governing self-driving cars were sufficient. Teamsters Union lobbyed heavily for the bill.
Currently, California bans all types of self-driving cars weighing over 10,000 pounds on public roads.
Proposed regulations for heavy-duty trucks aim It enhances manufacturers’ data reporting requirements, such as when a car stops in the middle of an active road for some reason and needs to be searched. They could give state DMVs the power to apply “incremental enforcement actions” to businesses instead of halting their testing permits entirely.
DMV Paused After one of the company’s self-driving cars, unmanned car company cruise permit in 2023 Attacked a pedestrian in San Francisco. The pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries.
Research shows that vehicles with higher front-ends, such as heavy-duty pickup trucks, are It is likely to cause death Collision with a pedestrian.
