California regulators have released revised rules that would allow companies to test and eventually deploy self-driving trucks on public highways.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency that regulates autonomous vehicles in the state, opened up a 15-day comment period for the proposed revisions that ends December 18.
California is home to numerous companies developing and testing autonomous vehicle technology in the state. And while robotaxis have become commonplace in the San Francisco Bay Area and parts of Los Angeles, autonomous trucks are absent because regulations ban any driverless vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds from testing on public roads.
The agency, which has considered lifting the ban for a couple of years now, released a draft of the proposed changes in 2024. The final proposed revisions were released Wednesday.
The revised regulations cover a few areas beyond self-driving trucks, including language that appears to give law enforcement the power to issue traffic tickets to driverless vehicles — an issue that has received more attention as Waymo has expanded its commercial robotaxi operation in the state.
The self-driving trucks component is by far the most contentious. The revisions reflect feedback received during the initial public comment period this spring, the agency said.
The proposal was met with enthusiasm by companies developing autonomous vehicle technology, many of which are based in California, but test on highways in other states like Texas. Companies like Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI eventually want to use self-driving trucks to carry freight along commerce-heavy freeways across states.
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“The California DMV’s latest draft regulations show real progress toward creating a regulatory framework for driverless trucks in the state and unlocking coast-to-coast autonomous operations,” Daniel Goff, vice president of external affairs at Kodiak AI, said in an emailed statement. “These proposed regulations are a …