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What BUILD America 250 Means for Autonomous Trucking
Rulemaking Committee Would Include Industry, Labor and Research Groups
Key Takeaways:
- House lawmakers released the BUILD America 250 Act on May 17 with a federal framework regulating self-driving trucks and autonomous commercial vehicle safety standards.
- The proposal would require Level 4 and 5 truck manufacturers to assume driver duties and replace varying state rules with national performance standards.
- The Transportation Department would have two years to finalize standards while a rulemaking panel and workforce training grant program launch within 12 months.
The bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill released May 17 — the BUILD America 250 Act — included details on the typical investment programs for U.S. roads, bridges, rail transportation and motor carrier safety programs.
For the first time, however, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee included a federal policy framework regulating the deployment of self-driving trucks, winning plaudits from the industry.
The framework — Safe Integration of Autonomous Commercial Motor Vehicles — would create a performance-based safety standard for commercial motor vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS).
Manufacturers of Level 4 or Level 5 autonomous vehicles would be required to assume the duties usually taken on by a human driver in real time when the ADS is active.
The framework also demands standards for ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles that include visual or digital hazard alerts for nearby road users — in plain language, alerts for when a truck breaks down.
Meanwhile, the bill lays out provisions that an operator must be on board if the vehicle is primarily involved in transporting minors, such as an autonomous school bus, or placarded for hazardous materials.
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And any remote driver or remote assistant must be properly qualified and licensed to operate a commercial motor vehicle.
The draft gives the Department of Transportation two years after the bill is passed to establish the performance-based safety standard for ADS-equipped trucks.
Before then, a rulemaking committee must be established by the transportation secretary within 90 days of the bill passing. Members must include representatives of the trucking industry, the autonomous vehicle community, labor organizations and independent testing and research groups.
The rulemaking committee has a year to report to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
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In addition, within 12 months of the bill passing, the transportation secretary is instructed to establish a workforce development program making grants available to professional drivers and mechanics for training to operate and maintain autonomous vehicles.
The framework won praise from the autonomous vehicle community.
“The BUILD America 250 Act takes decisive action on key regulatory matters impacting autonomous trucks, including the use of safety-enhancing warning beacons and requiring performance standards for commercial motor vehicles,” said Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association CEO Jeff Farrah.
The framework would bring more regulatory certainty for the autonomous trucking industry and ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in autonomous vehicle technology by replacing the current patchwork of state regulations, AVIA members Kodiak and Waabi said in separate statements.
In April, California adopted updated rules governing self-driving trucks, which Kodiak also backed.
Until now, many pioneers of autonomous trucking — including Kodiak and Waabi and peers such as Torc Robotics, Plus.AI and Aurora Innovation — have carried out their testing in Texas, but the updated California rules would allow manufacturers to test their products in the third-largest state by land mass.
