Expansion Comes Amid Nationwide Recall
After Driverless Collision, Performance Concerns
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, the California Senate Transportation Committee
overwhelmingly passed two Teamsters-backed bills, Assembly Bill
2286 (AB 2286) and Assembly Bill 3061 (AB 3061), that would
regulate autonomous vehicles (AVs) throughout the state. AB 2286
and AB 3061 are both part of the CARS legislative package on
autonomous vehicles that the Teamsters are advocating for to
protect good union jobs and public safety.
"Keeping roads safe and protecting our livelihoods are issues
that everyone can get behind," said Peter
Finn, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President
and President of Teamsters Joint Council 7. "It's time to
start passing these commonsense AV regulations instead of letting
Big Tech call the shots."
AB 2286 (formerly Assembly Bill 316) was introduced by Assembly
Majority Leader Cecilia
Aguiar-Curry. It 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 3061, introduced by
Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-17),
requires AV companies to publicly report any vehicle collisions,
traffic violations, disengagements, assaults, or harassment
involving their vehicles to the California Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV). The bill is critical to ensuring public
transparency and accountability, especially since the California
DMV has not tracked at-fault data for collisions involving AVs for
several years.
Support for the CARS legislative package on AVs has grown amid
ongoing scrutiny and technological failures. Earlier this month,
Waymo recalled nearly 700 driverless cars after one of its vehicles
hit a telephone pole, and the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into Alphabet's
Waymo and Amazon's Zoox following a series of safety incidents in
May. Cruise was under investigation earlier this year after a
deadly pedestrian crash in October. Meanwhile, local community
members, including school crossing guards, continue to sound the
alarm on AV safety concerns.
"The ongoing federal investigations into the largest autonomous
vehicle companies are another proof point that autonomous vehicles
are disasters waiting to happen," said Chris Griswold, Teamsters International Vice
President At-Large and President of Teamsters Joint Council 42.
"It's past time for California
communities to get an opportunity to hold these companies
accountable. The Teamsters will continue to fight for our members
and put good union jobs and safety first."
Currently in California, the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the DMV have near
total control of AV regulation but have failed to take proper
action to prioritize safety and jobs amid the statewide AVs
rollout. Even after a new study showed that more than 91 percent of
U.S. drivers expressed fear or uncertainty with AVs, the CPUC and
DMV both approved the expansion of robotaxis throughout the
state.
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
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters