California autonomous vehicle testing leaps ahead while leaving trucking behind

Autonomous trucks from Daimler subsidiary Torc Robotics have been busy testing in southwestern states save for California where Class 3 - 8 autonomous vehicles aren't welcome. The California Department of Motor Vehicles recently reported a 21% year-over-year increase in the number of miles autonomous vehicles drove in the state on public roads. “However, California runs the risk of getting left behind on autonomous trucks, which are forbidden from deploying in the state,” Farrah continued. Farrah said AVs can help reduce accidents, which makes larger AV testing in California all the more important. “The data from the California autonomous miles reporting is not a direct comparison to trucks because it features passenger cars within specific operational design domains,” Grigg said.