Self-driving trucks are officially testing on California highways
Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI, two companies developing self-driving trucks, have received permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Two autonomous trucking firms, Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI, have obtained permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to commence testing their self-driving truck technology on public highways. Kodiak AI has already initiated testing using a limited number of vehicles, primarily in the vicinity of its Mountain View office.
The California DMV approved updated regulations on April 28, ending the prohibition on driverless vehicles over 10,000 pounds and outlining a regulatory path for companies to test and potentially deploy autonomous heavy-duty vehicles. Aurora and Kodiak both satisfied the DMV's permitting requirements, which encompass safety, insurance, vehicle registration, safety driver qualifications, and other criteria.
These permits mandate a human safety operator in the driver's seat, barring operations on roads with a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less, except when traveling along a "direct route" between destinations. Nonetheless, opposition to self-driving trucks on California's roads remains. Teamsters California recently filed a lawsuit against the DMV, claiming the agency bypassed laws mandating the study and public disclosure of economic impacts and potential safety risks associated with self-driving trucks on public roads.
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