This week I went to Manifest in Las Vegas to cover truck technology. The conference didn’t disappoint: Representatives from Torc Robotics, Outrider, Bot Auto and other key players in the industry were among over 6,000 participants. Below are some of my initial thoughts.
FreightLiner shows off kitted Cascadia and fleet support
One conversation I had at the conference was with an analyst at...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucking-goes-to-vegas-and-driverless-technologies-run-the-table
Autonomous truck maker Aurora Innovation Inc. is suing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after the agency denied its request for a five-year exemption from the placement of roadside warning devices in favor of cab-mounted warning beacons (CMWBs).
The filing, submitted Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, argues that the ruling is unlawful, “because it is arbitrary, capricious, [and] an abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance with...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/autonomous-truckings-triangle-shaped-problem-goes-to-court
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators ruled that autonomous trucking did not provide enough data backing a request to allow traditional warning devices used in roadside breakdowns to be replaced by cab-mounted beacons.
Waymo LLC and Aurora Operations (NASDAQ: AUR) filed a petition in 2023 with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeking an exemption – on behalf of the autonomous trucking industry – from rules requiring drivers to display ground-based reflective signs or road flares when a...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-deny-roadside-warning-exemption-for-autonomous-trucks
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will exert significant influence on major policies affecting trucking, with major cost implications, for example, for truck automation and electric vehicles.
While the slate of pending regulations and legislation affecting trucking is long, below is a Top 10 list, in no particular order, of some of the most significant trucking policies that the Trump-Vance administration – along with Congress – will likely be taking on...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/top-10-trucking-policies-likely-to-be-affected-by-trumps-return
WASHINGTON — Three federal rulemakings that have cost implications for truckers and motor carriers are on the short-term horizon for a former top official at the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration.
Earl Adams, who served as FMCSA’s deputy administrator and chief counsel under former administrator Robin Hutcheson, led a team at the agency that is developing the first major set of rules for high-level automation in heavy-duty trucks.
The result of that...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/automation-speed-limiters-on-former-fmcsa-deputys-radar-for-2025
WASHINGTON — If former President Donald Trump wins back the White House in November, The Heritage Foundation hopes he will embrace the organization’s policy playbook, which would reward autonomous trucking while slowing the timeline for electric vehicles (EVs).
Those objectives are outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation chapter of the 900-page presidential transition “Mandate for Leadership” road map known as Project 2025, published by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
“Despite the...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/project-2025-pushes-automated-trucks-pumps-brakes-on-evs
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Volvo Trucks North America’s first new over-the-road VNL in seven years features a more powerful...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/volvo-reveals-new-long-haul-vnl-with-beefier-electrical-system
The California Senate joined the state Assembly in overwhelmingly voting to ban heavy-duty driverless trucks on state highways. Whether to sign or veto the bill is now up to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The government through Newsom’s business office has been critical of Assembly Bill 316, but he has not said what he will do. The former San Francisco mayor is a big technology backer but also courts labor unions, which are the loudest voices behind the legislation.
Essentially, the bill, which passed Monday...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/california-senate-votes-to-ban-driverless-trucks
“And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You’re gonna see it’s our destiny
You’ve got a friend in me” — Randy Newman
The battle over whether to allow heavy-duty autonomous trucks on highways in California is coming to an end. It would be premature to call the outcome, but Gov. Gavin Newsom is lining up behind advanced technology over organized labor. Both are major constituent groups of the Democratic governor.
Assembly Bill 316 would effectively kill autonomous testing and...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/newsom-leans-toward-allowing-autonomous-trucking-in-california