Authorities in California have unveiled updated guidelines that would permit businesses to evaluate and ultimately implement self-governing trucks on publicly accessible roadways.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles, the organization responsible for overseeing autonomous vehicle operations within the state, has initiated a 15-day period for public feedback on the suggested modifications, concluding on December 18.

California is a hub for numerous organizations engaged in the development and assessment of self-directed vehicle technologies. While self-operating passenger vehicles are now frequently seen in the San Francisco Bay Area and select areas of Los Angeles, autonomous trucking is currently prohibited due to regulations preventing the testing of any driverless vehicle exceeding 10,000 pounds on public streets.

The agency, which has been considering removing this restriction for several years, initially published a draft of the proposed alterations in 2024. The finalized proposed revisions were made available on Wednesday.

The updated regulations address several areas, including provisions that seem to grant law enforcement the authority to issue traffic citations to driverless vehicles – a matter that has gained prominence with the expansion of Waymo’s commercial robotaxi service in the state.

The portion of the revisions pertaining to self-driving trucks is the most debated. The agency stated that the changes reflect input gathered during the initial public comment period earlier this year.

The proposal has been welcomed by companies involved in the creation of autonomous vehicle technology, many of which are located in California but conduct testing on highways in other states, such as Texas. Businesses like Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI ultimately aim to utilize self-driving trucks for the transportation of goods along major freight corridors spanning multiple states.

“The California DMV’s most recent draft regulations demonstrate substantial advancement in establishing a regulatory structure for driverless trucks within the state and enabling autonomous operations across the country,” stated Daniel Goff, Vice President of External Affairs at Kodiak AI, in a written communication. “These proposed regulations represent a crucial step toward introducing autonomous trucks to California highways by 2026, a development that promises to improve road safety and stimulate economic growth.”

The Teamsters Union, which advocates for the protection of truck drivers, remains unconvinced.

“Our stance has not changed; we continue to oppose the deployment and testing of this technology on our roads,” explained Shane Gusman, the legislative director for Teamsters California, to TechCrunch. “The implemented changes do not alter our position.”

Gusman indicated that the Teamsters will actively challenge the proposed revisions and are also advocating for the passage of AB 33, a bill currently under consideration by the state Senate, which would mandate the presence of a human safety operator in the driver’s seat of any heavy-duty autonomous truck.

The DMV’s revised rules would necessitate that companies developing self-driving trucks undergo a staged permitting procedure, mirroring the existing regulations applied to lighter autonomous vehicles like robotaxis. Companies would initially receive permission to test with a human safety driver present. The DMV issues distinct permits for driverless testing and full deployment.

Under the DMV’s regulations, manufacturers would be required to complete a specified minimum number of test miles before applying for permits for both driverless testing and deployment. For example, self-driving truck companies would need to accumulate at least 500,000 autonomous test miles – with 100,000 of those miles occurring within the intended operational area in California – before being granted a driverless permit.

The DMV also suggested revisions to regulations impacting light-duty autonomous vehicles. These changes would increase the frequency and scope of data reported to the department during testing and deployment, and require companies to regularly update their plans for coordinating with emergency responders.