Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on legislation that enables the technology and auto industries to test and sell driverless vehicles on a national scale by exempting them from key Department of Transportation safety regulations.
The Transport Workers Union has been closely monitoring this legislation and is encouraged by some recent improvements to the bill, but more work remains to be done. The introduction of autonomous vehicles will have a massive impact on TWU members. There are also very real safety challenges, both to workers and to the public, which must be addressed. While the bill attempts to delay discussions on these crucial issues, further refinement is needed to ensure the bill’s focus is squarely on passenger cars.
The TWU will continue working to improve this legislation, and we look forward to working with the Senate to address our concerns as it drafts its own autonomous vehicles legislation.