Manufacturers of automated trucks seek warning device exemption

Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration unveiled a request from Waymo LLC and Aurora Operations that the companies wanted an exemption regarding the required placement of warning devices on automated trucks.

Now, FMCSA is clarifying that Waymo and Aurora made the request “on behalf of a class of motor carriers operating autonomous driving systems” and would not be limited to the two makes of autonomous trucks. FMCSA’s updated notice is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on March 9. In addition, the agency is extending the request’s comment period by a week.

The exemption would allow all motor carriers operating autonomous driving systems – with or without a human on board – to have warning beacons mounted on the truck cab instead of traditional warning devices required by regulations.

The exemption request was published in the Federal Register on March 3. Current regulations state that “whenever a commercial motor vehicle is stopped upon the traveled portion or the shoulder of a highway for any cause other than necessary traffic stops, the driver shall, as soon as possible” … place warning devices in a specific manner. The regulations also require all exterior lamps to be steady-burning.

Waymo and Aurora are asking for a five-year exemption on behalf of autonomous truck carriers.

If granted, the qualified carriers would be exempt from requirements regarding the placement of warning devices and the steady-burning lamp requirement. It also would allow the companies to use a warning device for stopped vehicles that isn’t acceptable under the current rules.

“Waymo and Aurora believe it is possible to achieve the safety purpose of the warning device in an alternative way by using forward- and rearward-facing amber flashing lights mounted on the cab at a height above the upper edge of the side-view mirrors,” the notice stated. “Waymo and Aurora each separately tested variants of such devices and have concluded that the use of the cab-mounted warning devices was equally or more effective in enabling road users to recognize and react to the potential hazard presented by the stopped commercial motor vehicle.”

How to comment

Once the updated notice is published, the public will have 30 days to comment on the exemption request. To do so, click here or go to the Regulations.gov website and enter Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0071. LL