Washington — A centralized framework that emphasizes security and lets innovation “thrive” is essential for the federal regulation of autonomous trucks, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear says.
Speaking throughout a Sept. 13 hearing earlier than the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, Spear known as on Congress to set up agency federal oversight to keep away from a “patchwork” of state and native laws that might “stifle the innovation” of automation “before it even has a chance to prove its worth.”
In Spear’s view, that features “knee-jerk reactions” corresponding to A.B. 316 – a proposed AV regulation in California that might have prohibited autonomous trucks weighing greater than 10,000 kilos from working on state roadways with out a individual on board. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed the invoice on Sept. 22.
In his opening remarks, Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), who chairs the subcommittee, mentioned a possible federal framework “should not be overly prescriptive, but instead create guardrails for the industry to grow with safety at the forefront.” He cited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates displaying that 94% of significant crashes could be attributed to driver-related elements corresponding to rushing, fatigue, impairment and distraction.
Crawford mentioned autonomous trucks can improve security “by anticipating road dangers and mitigating or removing human error from the chain of events that lead to a crash.”
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the subcommittee’s rating member, cautioned that the expertise’s potential advantages “must be carefully weighed against risks, especially when public roads are being used as testing grounds for new technologies.”
Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), a former truck driver, mentioned that though he isn’t opposed to autonomous trucking, he nonetheless has concerns related to its potential impression on points corresponding to cybersecurity and a perceived driver scarcity.
“We can’t guarantee what hackers might be able to get into and put autonomous trucks at risk to our people,” Bost mentioned. “I think we can put a lot of safety in there, but we’ve got to be very, very, very careful.”
