Despite the veto of a similar bill last year, California lawmakers are again trying to ban large autonomous trucks from operating without a driver behind the wheel.
Under the legislation, autonomous vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 pounds would be barred from operating on public roads without a human safety operator inside, whether the vehicles are transporting goods or passengers, or just driving for testing purposes.
The bill passed the state legislature on Aug. 29, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill.
“As California considers expanding autonomous technology to include trucks and buses, AVs have greater potential to injure and kill Californians and displace large portions of the workforce,” Aguilar-Curry said.
In his veto statement last year, Newsom said the previous bill’s concerns over public safety failed to account for the state’s already existing laws and regulatory authority. In 2012, the California Legislature authorized the Department of Motor Vehicles to oversee the industry in cooperation with state law enforcement agencies.
“Autonomous vehicle technology is evolving and the DMV remains committed to keeping our rules up to date to reflect its continued development in California,” Newsom said in a statement last summer.
According to a legislative committee analysis, AB 2286, is nearly identical to last year’s bill.Requiring a person to remain inside the vehicles could help prevent fires, according to another legislative analysis, because truck drivers are required to carry fire extinguishers.
Data from the National Fire Protection Association show there were 212,500 vehicle fires in 2018, causing 560 civilian deaths. Heavy trucks are more susceptible to road fires because of their large tires, which if underinflated can cause enough friction to spark a fire.
“Removing a human safety driver would potentially remove hundreds of thousands of individuals from California roads that could help put out those fires, including ones caused by AV trucks,” according to the analysis.
Since Newsom’s 2023 veto, several incidents have prompted investigations into self-driving vehicle companies. Federal authorities are investigating the autonomous taxi company Cruise after a San Francisco incident last October in which a woman was struck by another vehicle and thrown into the path of a Cruise vehicle, which dragged her 20 feet.
Peter Finn, western regional vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said in a news release that an increasing number of accidents involving self-driving taxis is a concern for proponents of AB 2286.
“We’ve seen the destruction that small robotaxis can cause, injuring pedestrians and preventing first responders from doing their job. We cannot allow driverless vehicles weighing 10 times that of a robotaxi onto our roads without a human operator. That’s why the Teamsters are calling on California policymakers to pass AB 2286,” he said.
Representatives of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, which works with AV companies to promote safety, said in the analysis that the bill is not needed because as Newsom said, the industry is already overseen by the DMV.
They said the California Highway Patrol and the DMV are already taking “critical steps” to oversee the regulation of AVs over 10,000 pounds and have already established a “robust regulatory regime” for the lighter self-driving vehicles.
In a February news release when the bill was announced, association representatives said autonomous vehicles and truck drivers both have a role in state transport.
“Let’s be clear: California needs truck drivers and autonomous trucks, and both will thrive together in the future. California faces acute supply chain challenges, and truck drivers and autonomous trucks will work together to support the state’s farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small businesses,” they said.
