Teamsters Veto: A State Assembly Resolution Proposal for a New Rulemaking for Self-Driving Autonomous Vehicles
Prior to the veto, the Teamsters union praised the state assembly on June 1st for passing the measure, saying it’s needed because the DMV is considering rules that would let trucks over 10,000 pounds drive on California roads, potentially by 2024. The union had until the 14th of October to urge Newsom to pass the bill. Newsom rejected it the same day.
The law is unnecessary since California already has two agencies which oversee and create regulations for the new technology, according to the letter released yesterday. State agencies are in the midst of creating specific rules for heavy-duty autonomous vehicles, including trucks.
The next laws around driverless vehicles will be crafted with the help of interested stakeholders, according to a proposal written by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The department is going to seek public comment on the rulemaking with experts and stakeholders.
The bill saw overwhelming support among California lawmakers, with 36 state senators affirming it and just two rejecting the measure on September 11th, and state assemblymembers approving it by 69 to 4 on May 31st.
The veto of the bill would have saved jobs, and it would have given a green light to put the dangerous rigs on the road.
“My administration has long been concerned with the impact of technology on the future of work,” wrote Newsom in his veto message, later writing that he would ask the Labor and Workforce Department to work with stakeholders to recommend ways to mitigate the damage self-driving trucks may have on employment.
Companies developing the technology claim that it will save freight shipper money by allowing trucks to run loads on highways 24 hours a day, and that it will also eliminate the risks associated with distracted human driving which could bring down insurance costs.
The union with the largest number of truck drivers in the US organized a mass caravan to call on the governor to sign the bill, which would have mandated a safety driver on self-driving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds.
Most of the US companies working on autonomous trucks operate on highways in the Southeast and West, especially Texas, where dry weather and a come-as-y’all-are approach to driverless tech regulations make conditions ideal. The safety drivers who are trained to take over when a truck goes wrong aren’t being removed from their jobs. (The controversial company TuSimple says it has completed a handful of completely driverless truck demonstrations in the US; it has since paused its US operations.)