On April 27, Aurora Innovation deployed its first driverless truck on a public highway. A week-and-a-half later, no clarity has been provided on how the company is prepared to comply with a federal regulation that requires the driver to place warning devices when a commercial motor vehicle is stopped on the shoulder of a highway.
Late last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration denied Aurora’s request to be exempted from the warning device regulation. That denial led to an ongoing lawsuit.
The regulation
Regulation 392.22(b)(1) reads as follows:
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, but in any event within 10 minutes, place the warning devices … in the following manner:
(i) One on the traffic side of and four paces (approximately 3 meters or 10 feet) from the stopped commercial motor vehicle in the direction of approaching traffic;
(ii) One at 40 paces (approximately 30 meters or 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; and
(iii) One at 40 paces (approximately 30 meters or 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 away from approaching traffic.
The denial and lawsuit
In December 2024, FMCSA denied Aurora’s request to exempt autonomous trucks from the warning device regulation. Instead of having a driver place the warning devices, Aurora said it would have warning beacons mounted on the truck cab.
FMCSA called the exemption request “broad.” Additionally, the agency said it was “not supported by the data presented and lacks necessary monitoring controls to ensure highway safety.”
Soon after, Aurora filed a lawsuit against FMCSA and the U.S. Department of Transportation, saying the denial was contrary to evidence and without an adequate and reasoned explanation.
“FMCSA’s decision stifles safety innovation and would impede the development of the autonomous trucking industry for no valid or lawful reason,” the lawsuit stated.
The case filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is in its early stages. Aurora has until June 9 to file its petitioner’s brief.
The aftermath
Aurora didn’t let the exemption denial deter it from meeting its goal of deploying its first driverless truck on Interstate 45 in Texas by the end of April.
In January, Aurora President Ossa Fisher wrote in a blog post that the exemption denial would not prevent the company from complying with existing regulations when its driverless trucks were deployed. However, Aurora declined requests from Land Line at that time to specify how it would comply.
Aurora also did not respond to multiple requests from Land Line following the announcement of the company’s April 27 deployment.
As part of that announcement, Aurora said it briefed FMCSA about the readiness of its driverless operations before deployment. However, FMCSA deferred back to Aurora when asked how the company was complying with the warning device regulation.
“FMCSA is aware of reports regarding Aurora’s operations in Texas,” an agency spokesperson told Land Line on Wednesday, May 7. “It is the responsibility of all motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce to comply with all applicable federal motor carrier safety regulations. For specific questions regarding Aurora’s operational practices or compliance strategies, we would refer you to the company directly.”
Aurora Chief Executive Officer Chris Urmson was seated in the back during the initial run between Dallas and Houston on April 27. It is unclear if a person has been in the truck for all subsequent trips or if that’s how the company plans to comply until a resolution is reached at the regulatory level or in the courts.
What is clear is that Aurora plans to continue and expand its driverless operations. The company said it will run driverless trucks to El Paso, Texas and Phoenix by the end of 2025.
“Today, we’re operating on public roads, with no one behind the wheel,” Urmson wrote in his April 27 blog post. “We don’t have a police escort. We haven’t closed the road. We’re driving safely and confidently in busy Houston traffic on one of the busiest roads in America. And we’re going to do it again tomorrow and the next day. And the day after that.”
Aurora will have a business review conference call at 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, May 8. According to an April 17 news release, the company will provide an update then on the details of its commercial launch. LL
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