WASHINGTON — New legislation introduced in Congress could help pave the way for driverless trucks that supporters say will improve safety and alleviate the trucking industry’s driver retention problem.
“While Europe and China are rapidly integrating autonomous trucks into their supply chains, America is asleep at the wheel, hamstrung by a confusing patchwork of state regulations that threaten public safety, innovation, and economic growth,” said U.S. Rep. Vince Fong, R, Calif., who introduced the bill this week, in a press statement.
“By establishing a federal framework for autonomous trucks and empowering the Department of Transportation to set practical regulations, we can safely scale this emerging technology nationwide.”
Fong pointed out that in addition to differing state laws that regulate various forms of autonomous truck testing or deployment is “an ongoing need for truck drivers” that many argue is caused by the inability of carriers to keep the drivers they hire.
The America Drives Act (Autonomous Mobility Ensuring Regulation, Innovation, Commerce, and Advancement Driving Reliability in Vehicle Efficiency and Safety) “aims to end this regulatory fragmentation and address the driver shortage,” according to Fong.
The bill states that a commercial vehicle equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) with Level 4 or Level 5 capability – the highest level of self-driving automation – would be allowed to operate in interstate commerce “without a human driver on board such vehicle or a remote human driver.”
The legislation also codifies FMCSA’s interpretation that federal safety regulations don’t require a human driver, directs FMCSA to update rules by 2027 for ADS-equipped vehicles, and exempts fully autonomous trucks from human-specific requirements such as hours of service and drug testing.
In addition, it would allow cab-mounted warning beacons to replace the requirement that warning triangles be positioned on the ground near disabled trucks – a change autonomous trucking companies have sought through rule exemption petitions but denied by FMCSA. Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ: AUR) is one of those companies.
“This bill would help the United States win the AI race by creating clear, safety-focused rules for the deployment of autonomous trucks,” Gerardo Interiano, Aurora’s senior vice president of government relations and public affairs, told FreightWaves in an email.
“We’ll continue partnering with leaders in Congress and throughout the federal government to highlight how autonomous trucks can not only save lives, but strengthen our economy and supply chain.”
Speeding the rollout of autonomous vehicles is also priority for the Trump administration.
Seval Oz, President Trump’s pick to spearhead autonomous vehicle priorities at the U.S. Department of Transportation as the department’s assistant secretary for research and technology, stated at her nomination hearing that the trucking industry “is a very interesting windfall benefactor” for the technology because of the potential for significant economic benefits.
“I think it’s one of the first use cases that we can emerge with, and I’m hoping to provide good clarity and guidance on how we can do that,” she told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday.
ATA: 10-15 years away
The American Trucking Associations also supports the effort. ATA President Chris Spear, testifying in the Senate on Tuesday, said automated trucks will improve freight efficiency but insisted they are not a threat to truck driver jobs. When pressed, he told lawmakers he estimates fully autonomous trucks “to be 10-15 years away.”
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, testifying at the same hearing, said he would demand that job protections be included in legislation regulating autonomous vehicles.
“I’m all for efficiencies – there are efficiencies built into [the labor agreement with port workers],” he said. “But there are also job protections in that agreement as a result of implementing new technology. So a priority would be that upon implementation, you protect and create new jobs.”
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