An autonomous trucking company seeks a long-term exemption that could open the door to thousands of driverless trucks operating on the nation’s highways.
Aurora Operations, which is currently operating under a limited waiver, is requesting a five-year exemption from a federal regulation requiring truck drivers to place warning devices around the truck when stopped on a highway shoulder.
The exemption request was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, April 15. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will accept comments about Aurora’s request through May 15.
“FMCSA requests public comment on Aurora Operations’ application for a five-year exemption to allow commercial motor vehicles equipped with a Level 4 automated driving system to use a set of cab-mounted warning beacons instead of placing reflective warning triangles or fuses around the stopped vehicle,” the agency wrote.
If granted, the exemption would apply to Aurora and other motor carriers operating Level 4 ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles that provide FMCSA with advance written notice.
The rule, which aims to alert other drivers when a commercial motor vehicle is stopped, requires the driver to take immediate action.
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:
- 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
Of course, that rule doesn’t work for autonomous trucking companies that want to operate without the cost of a truck driver. That’s why Aurora seeks a long-term exemption.
Aurora told FMCSA that it wants to nearly double its fleet from 109 to 200 by the end of 2026. Additionally, the company projects that it could expand to thousands of driverless trucks over the next five years.
Under the current waiver, Aurora said it successfully used cab-mounted warning beacons from Oct. 10, 2025, through Jan. 9, on 34 commercial motor vehicles that traveled over 500,000 miles. The beacons reportedly activated for nearly 10 hours. According to Aurora, the beacons were “reliable and operated as expected without any faults, malfunctions or power issues.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association opposes the exemption request. In 2023, OOIDA warned FMCSA that the warning beacons wouldn’t work if the vehicles were stopped within 500 feet of a curve.
“(Aurora does) not discuss any backup warning systems that can be implemented if and when an automated truck experiences any type of failure where the lights or beacons can no longer function,” OOIDA wrote in 2023. “Again, we continue to see too many instances where autonomous vehicle technology does not perform the way it is designed, which further jeopardizes safety performance. Reflective triangles and flares are not reliant on technology systems that are so vulnerable to disruptions.”
How to comment
To file a comment on Aurora’s exemption request, go to Regulations.gov and enter Docket No. FMCSA-2026-0958. LL
Credit: Source link
