Self-driving semis focus of California rules, legislation

Joe Garner, a truck driver and shop steward for the local 315 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, watches a rally at the California Capitol on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. Garner supports a bill that would require human drivers to be present for self-driving semitrucks. — AP

SACRAMENTO, California: As California regulators explore new rules to put self-driving semitrucks on the road, US labour unions are rushing to the state Legislature to ask for a new law they say will protect their jobs – the start of a debate that could shape the future of the country’s nearly US$900bil (RM3.82 trillion) trucking industry.

California already has rules governing self-driving cars and delivery trucks that weigh less than 10,001 pounds (4,536 kilograms). Now, the California Department of Motor Vehicles is gathering information for potential new rules that would let self-driving semitrucks on the road that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds (36,287 kilograms).