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Dive Summary:
- A group of Delaware senators is seeking to limit AV testing and development in the state to vehicles weighing 10,001 kilograms or more by requiring a safety operator on board.
- An updated proposal seeks to clarify the original bill from March and also require the state Department of Transportation to submit a report to lawmakers by Jan. 1, 2029.
- The update means the bill is even closer to looking like a bill before the California State Senate.
Dive Insight:
The bill threatens to blow a hole in medium- and heavy-duty AV use, though early growth is focused on the southern US due to weather concerns.
Currently, 16 states implicitly allow the development of driverless autonomous vehicles and 24 states do so explicitly, according to an Aurora Innovation investor presentation earlier this year.
In April, Kentucky became the 25th state to enable driverless operations, according to the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association. The bill survived a government veto and Opposition groups.
But the updated proposal from the Delaware State Senate was enough to raise concerns from AVIA. The group said the AV industry opposes the bill to “preemptively and prematurely ban AV trucks in Delaware.”
AVIA also said autonomous trucks will thrive alongside truck drivers to meet growing freight demand and supply chain challenges.