Trucking news and briefs for Monday, April 24, 2023:
A bill that effectively bans autonomous commercial trucks unless a driver is in the cab in California cleared another hurdle last week, passing the state Committee on Communications and Conveyance. Introduced in January, the legislation is authored by California Assembly Members Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), and Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), and previously passed the California Assembly Transportation Committee.
AB 316 prohibits an operation of an autonomous vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or more on public roads for testing purposes, transporting goods or transporting passengers without a human safety operator physically inside the truck at the time of operation.
Ahead of the hearing, more than 55 business organizations and companies of all sizes interested in AV trucks signed a letter for the record opposing AB 316, with a roll of co-signers that include Institute for Safer Trucking, CalChamber, California Small Business Association, U.S. Xpress, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, California Hispanic Chamber, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and state-based AV companies.
"AB 316 continues to be an effective ban on this life-saving technology with no pathway for Californians to benefit from autonomous trucks," the group wrote in its letter. "Supporters of AB 316 have shown zero evidence that AV trucks are unsafe or will cause mass layoffs of truck drivers. This committee is being asked to take action based on nothing more than speculation."
The Teamsters and the California Labor Federation signaled support for the legislation. Randy Cammack, President of Teamsters Joint Council 42, noted the union's "fight for our members' good jobs and safety on the roads, as well as the safety of all California drivers," he said. "The public should not be treated as a lab rat for big corporations to test their technology."
