OOIDA on driverless truck exemption: Just say no Most Americans have concerns about sharing the road with an 80,000-pound driverless truck. However, companies like Aurora Operations hope their fleets of driverless trucks will grow to the thousands over the next five years. To help make that happen, Aurora seeks a five-year exemption from a federal regulation requiring truck drivers to place warning devices around the truck when stopped on a highway shoulder. Specifically, Aurora is asking to use a set of cab-mounted warning beacons instead of having a person deploy warning triangles around the truck. If granted, the exemption would apply to Aurora and other motor carriers operating Level 4 automated commercial motor vehicles. FMCSA is giving the public through May 15 to comment on Aurora’s exemption request. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is encouraging truck drivers and the general public to speak out against allowing driverless trucks on highways before they are ready. The organization, which represents small-business truckers, issued a Call to Action on Wednesday, April 22. “Self-driving trucking fleets are seeking an exemption from warning device regulations to remove human operators from trucks,” OOIDA wrote on its Fighting For Truckers website. “Tell FMCSA NO!” According to the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, 86% of Americans said they are concerned about driverless tractor-trailers and delivery trucks. The regulation 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