The state of California is mulling a major change to its policy regarding driverless truck testing in the state.
According to a report from Reuters, California's Department of Motor Vehicles is proposing to allow the testing of self-driving, heavy-duty trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds on public roads.
Currently, self-driving light-duty passenger vehicles are cleared for testing in California, but heavy-duty commercial trucks are not allowed. Other states, like Texas, Arkansas, and Arizona, allow for that testing to occur on their roads already.
The state would limit the testing to specific roads and routes legal for that size of vehicle, and it would not permit certain heavy-duty operations like house movers, commercial vehicles like buses that transport passengers, oversized loads, hazardous materials, and bulk liquids.
Companies like Tesla, Aurora, and others have been looking to make inroads in commercial trucking with their self-driving systems, and Tesla in particular has been testing its Full Self-Driving system around its Nevada facility in anticipation of releasing the feature in the next wave of electric semi trucks, according to Teslarati.
Even though having another electric semi on the road would be better for the environment compared to a diesel-fueled truck and could lower a company's operating costs, the risks to self-driving commercial trucks are obvious.
Because of the size of the vehicle and the ways in which self-driving vehicles can malfunction, there is significantly more risk in not having a driver behind the wheel of a semi truck. If things go wrong, a self-driving truck with no driver behind the wheel could cause serious damage to itself, other drivers, pedestrians, and the surrounding environment.
The proposal comes at a time when President Trump rolled back reporting regulations for testing self-driving vehicles, and California is seemingly hoping to cash in on that deregulation with this policy change.
The potential change is also a win for Tesla, at a time when it could use one. The company has seen a massive decline in sales in Europe, is facing a lawsuit involving its safety score formulas, and has recently settled another lawsuit related to employee conduct.
The state also proposed regulations for manufacturers to apply for driverless testing permits for heavy-duty vehicles, requiring 500,000 autonomous testing miles to get the permit, per Reuters. As many as 400,000 of those miles could be completed outside of California. The state plans to hold a public hearing in June on the proposals.
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