Proposed Ban on Autonomous Trucks in California Will Hinder Efforts to Reduce Emissions from Trucks and Improve Road Safety
“Let's leave safety measures to experts, not politicians -
just like CARB does for the environment.”
Sacramento, CA — Safer Roads for All is warning that Assembly Bill 316 will have a negative impact on the state's efforts to reduce emissions from trucks and improve road safety.
Recently, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a rule ending sales of new gas and diesel trucks in CA by 2036, with fleets over 50 trucks required to transition to electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2042.
Meanwhile, Assembly Bill 316 continues to advance in the State Legislature, which, if enacted, would ban autonomous trucks by permanently preventing them from operating on their own. Yesterday, the bill was put on the suspense file in the Assembly Appropriations Committee after previously passing Assembly Transportation and Communications and Conveyance Committees.
"Electric and self-driving trucks are moving towards the same goal of making our roads safer and greener,” said Peter Leroe-Muñoz, SVP of Tech Policy, Silicon Valley Leadership Group. “But Sacramento's plan to ban autonomous trucks while requiring electric ones doesn't make sense, especially with climate change being such an urgent problem. We need every tool in our toolbox to tackle it and build a better future for Californians.
Trucks are a major source of air pollution in California, responsible for over 35% of the state's nitrogen oxide emissions and a quarter of its on-road greenhouse gas emissions, despite representing just 6% of vehicles on the roads. Transitioning to sustainable trucks is crucial to achieve the state's environmental goals. Electric trucks have shorter driving ranges than diesel or gas powered trucks, which means they need more frequent recharging. Autonomous electric trucks can optimize their routes and energy consumption while improving road safety.
The current trends in truck-related road safety are heading in the wrong direction. In 2021, there were over 14,000 crashes involving commercial trucks in California resulting in 518 fatalities and 7,000 injuries. This represents a 11% increase in crashes, 24% increase in fatalities and a 30% increase in injuries over 2018 statistics. 2022 data is partial, but many statistics are on track to surpass 2021 results.
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Crash Statistics
Driving a truck is a tough job due to the long hours, physical demands and mental stress involved. This is why there is currently a shortage of 80,000 truck drivers. Studies have shown that human behavior is a major contributor to commercial truck crashes. Autonomous technology eliminates many of those factors like distracted or impaired driving and creates more opportunities for short haul truck drivers, which is less grueling than long haul.
"Requiring electric trucks but banning autonomous ones is counterproductive for the state. We need both technologies to work together for better environmental and safety outcomes. Let's leave safety measures to the road safety experts at CHP and DMV, not politicians - just like CARB does for the environment," said Leroe-Muñoz.
