Bipartisan Lawmakers Vote to
Support AV Legislation Protecting Public Safety, Good
Jobs
SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Assembly
Transportation Committee yesterday passed two Teamsters-supported
bills, Assembly Bill 2286 (AB 2286) and Assembly Bill
3061 (AB 3061), that would regulate autonomous vehicles (AVs)
in the state. AB 2286 and AB 3061 are part of the CARS legislative
package on autonomous vehicles that the Teamsters are
advocating for to protect good jobs and public safety, alongside
Senate Bill 915, which would require AV companies to secure local
approvals prior to starting operations.
"The Teamsters applaud the elected leaders on the Assembly
Transportation Committee who supported these bills to protect
California's streets and hold
autonomous vehicle companies accountable," said Chris Griswold, Teamsters International Vice
President At-Large and President of Teamsters Joint Council 42.
"From robotaxis to autonomous big rigs, AVs should not be operating
on our roads without a human driver behind the wheel. We cannot
trust AV companies to be transparent about their internal
operations."
AB 2286, formerly Assembly Bill 316, requires a trained human
operator behind the wheel of self-driving trucks weighing more than
10,000 pounds, which will preserve hundreds of thousands of
good-paying trucking jobs and keep California roads safe. AB 316
was first introduced by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-4) in January 2023 and received overwhelming bipartisan
support in the legislature, with more than 90 percent of
California lawmakers voting in
favor of the legislation.
AB 3061, introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-17), would require AV companies to
publicly report any vehicle collisions, traffic violations,
disengagements, assaults, or harassment involving their vehicles to
the Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The bill is critical to ensuring
public transparency and accountability, especially as AV companies
fail to publicly report major incidents on California roads. The
California DMV has not tracked at-fault data for collisions
involving AVs for several years.
As self-driving trucks are deployed to America's highways,
robotaxis have been reported to run over pedestrians, block first
responders from their jobs, come within seconds of colliding with
children, and cause traffic pile-ups. These AV safety incidents
have driven widespread safety concerns among the California public. A new report from the
American Automobile Association shows that over 91 percent of
drivers expressed fear or uncertainty about driving alongside
AVs.
"The Teamsters are standing up to Big Tech and AV companies who
only care about their profits, not about working people or public
safety," said Lindsay Dougherty,
Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and Director
of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division.
"Californians, and the people we elect to public office, have been
sounding the alarm for over a year about the dangers of autonomous
trucks and cars. It's past time we get a say on how this unproven
technology will impact our lives and our jobs."
SB 915 will receive a hearing in the California Senate Committee on Local
Government tomorrow. Following the hearing, the committee members
are expected to vote on the bill.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto
Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on
Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at
Facebook.com/teamsters.
Contact:
Matt McQuaid, (202)
624-6877
mmcquaid@teamster.org
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teamsters-endorsed-autonomous-vehicle-safety-bills-pass-california-assembly-transportation-committee-302118677.html
SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters