The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation recently held a hearing on the benefits of autonomous commercial truck technology.
Earlier this month, the House passed an autonomous vehicle bill. The bill did not exclude vehicles more than 10,000 pounds. The Senate must determine if vehicles of this side must be excluded from autonomous technology regulations.
“Trucks share our roads, deliver our goods, and keep our economy moving,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Committee chairman, said. “Including trucks in the conversation about automated vehicles is important as we seek to improve safety; it also puts our economy on a level playing field as other countries around the world deploy automated freight trucks.”
Thune and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced their version of the House bill earlier this month. It also did not include commercial trucks.
The consensus during the hearing was that safety made autonomous trucks worth considering, but there were concerns about job training, cybersecurity and people losing their jobs.
The hearing was watched closely by many industry groups including the National Association of Truck Stop Operators and American Trucking Associations.
Chris Spear, American Trucking Associations president and CEO, argued that autonomous vehicles are like autopilot; a human will always be needed for complex maneuvering.