In 2024, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration denied a request for an exemption from a regulation that requires drivers of a stopped commercial motor vehicle to promptly deploy warning triangles.
Now, another company is taking a crack at it.
In a notice that was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 26, Emergency Safety Solutions asked FMCSA for a five-year exemption related to the requirements for placing warning devices around a stopped commercial motor vehicle.
Current regulations require that “whenever a commercial motor vehicle is stopped upon the traveled portion of the shoulder of a highway for any cause other than necessary traffic stops, the driver shall,” as soon as possible, place the warning devices in the following manner:
- One on the traffic side and four paces – approximately 10 feet – from the stopped commercial motor vehicle in the direction of approaching traffic
- One at 40 paces – approximately 100 feet – from the stopped commercial motor vehicle in the center of the traffic lane or shoulder occupied by the commercial motor vehicle and in the direction of approaching traffic
- One at 40 paces from the stopped commercial motor vehicle in the center of the traffic lane or shoulder occupied by the commercial motor vehicle and in the direction away from approaching traffic
Previous denial
In 2023, FMCSA published an exemption request from Waymo LLC and Aurora Operations that would have allowed the companies to operate autonomous trucks that are equipped with warning beacons mounted on the truck cab instead of traditional warning devices required by regulations.
FMCSA denied the request in December 2024, saying the “broad exemption is not supported by the data presented and lacks necessary monitoring controls to ensure highway safety.”
Aurora later filed a lawsuit over the denial, arguing that it “stifles safety innovation.” As of Aug. 29, that lawsuit was still in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Aurora’s petitioner’s brief is due Oct. 8.
The denial hinders the ability of an autonomous trucking company to operate without a human on board.
Emergency Safety Solutions’ request
Emergency Safety Solutions, a Houston-based company that says its mission is “to reduce preventable deaths and injuries – globally – from crashes involving disabled and vulnerable vehicles,” is asking for its warning products to be allowed.
The company wants all drivers of commercial motor vehicles equipped with the H.E.L.P. DeliverSAFE system to be exempt from the regulation.
According to Emergency Safe Solutions, the truck module taps into the commercial motor vehicle’s red and amber lighting circuits and “activates higher flash rates on lamps on the front, sides and rear of the CMV tractor and trailer or box truck when the CMV is in park or the parking brake is engaged, the hazard lights are on and the module’s hard switch is turned on.”
The trailer module is mounted externally between the tractor and trailer and relies on software to confirm the vehicle is stationary, hazard lights are activated and the system is armed via either mobile app or hard switch located on the product. In its application, the company said its “trailer module activates higher flash rates on lamps on the sides and rear of the trailer of the stopped CMV, but because it does not activate lamps on the tractor, the driver would continue to need to carry warning devices” required by current regulations.
How to comment
FMCSA will accept comments on Emergency Safety Solutions’ exemption request through Sept. 25. To comment, click here or go to Regulations.gov and enter FMCSA-2025-0260. LL
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