For and against. Should these giants be tested on state roads?
In full development of laws and proposals that seek to place electric trucks in the State, a project wants to completely stop large and autonomous trucks that circulate without a driver on the roads. In 2015 this prohibition became clear.
But a state law allows these 10,000-plus-pound trucks to be tested and operated without a driver. Now the Senate Appropriations Committee evaluated a project to restrict this practice on all routes.
This is the AB316 standard that: “would prohibit the operation of an autonomous vehicle with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds or more on public roads for the purposes of testing, transporting goods or transporting passengers without a human security operator physically present on the vehicle”. autonomous vehicle at the time of the operation”, is detailed in the document.
The new procedure to be able to test one of these autonomous giants would be as follows: “The Department of Motor Vehicles will not issue a deployment permit for the use of autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more without a prior life safety operator. one year after the supervision hearing described and only after the express authorization of the Legislative Assembly and the Governor”.
The bill, by Assemblymen Aguiar-Curry and Friedman, seems to run counter to the views of Governor Gavin Newson, who became involved in the matter. So much so that the Governor’s Office of Economic and Business Development openly spoke out against this project. Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of this area, was blunt, clarifying that the rule: “takes an uncompromising approach to regulating a growing industry. Our state is on the cusp of a new era and cannot risk stifling innovation at this critical moment.
Against it are different sectors from where Newsom is accused of prioritizing the economy over fear of job loss and road safety.
The Association of Independent Driver Owner-Operators was one of the organizations that raised concerns that these technologies could negatively impact the industry and the economy.