State lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would ban fully driverless trucks in Texas.
House Bill 4402, which just passed out of the Texas House Committee on Transportation, would require trained human operators in autonomous vehicles.
A similar bill has been introduced in California a number of times and has even passed both houses, but has been twice vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
"Requiring a human operator in a driverless truck isn't unreasonable — it's common sense," said Brent Taylor, President of Teamsters Joint Council 80 in Dallas and Southern Region International Vice President. The union has supported numerous bills that require human operators in autonomous commercial vehicles.
"There are hundreds of thousands of Texans who turn a key for a living. They have mortgages, medical bills, and families to support," Taylor added. "We can't let out-of-state billionaires steal their jobs with reckless automation. We must protect their livelihoods by passing this critical bill into law."
Texas' push for AV regulation comes as the tech company Aurora begins operating fully driverless trucks on Texas roads with Uber Freight and Hirschbach Motor Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 46).
Aurora earlier this month began regular driverless customer deliveries between Dallas and Houston and has to date completed more than 1,200 miles without a driver.
Aurora plans to expand its driverless service to El Paso, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona by the end of 2025.
Texas has been one of the most autonomous-friendly states in the country. Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak Robotics last May completed their first driverless delivery of frac sand in West Texas’s Permian Basin.
