A battle is brewing in California over whether to allow fully autonomous trucking in the state, and one side has introduced legislation to try to make sure it never happens.
Self-driving tech is coming to both cars and trucks, but while those focused on its use in passenger vehicles mainly worry about safety, the arguments about its use in long-distance commercial rigs are more complicated. It’s not only lives that are potentially at stake, but the livelihoods of truck drivers as well.
So two state legislators backed by the California Labor Federation and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents truckers, want to introduce backstop legislation that would require any vehicle over 10,000 lbs (4,536 kg) fitted with autonomous technology to have a safety driver present while testing or operating within the state. If the bill passes, big rigs would need a driver even if the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) decides to allow autonomous trucks.
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