U.S. Labor Leader Calls for Human Drivers in Automated Vehicles

By David ShepardsonWASHINGTON (Reuters) -A senior American labor union leader will tell U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that the government should require human operators in all self-driving passenger services to take over in the event of an emergency. "You are talking about millions of jobs that are professional drivers ... and if we're not thinking about that now, there may be really dire consequences." Waymo said it planned to start with "drivered operations" and Cruise expects to deploy vehicles without humans behind the wheel, according to documents seen by Reuters. The phased approach to regulation that we’ve recommended would ensure a smart balance between close federal oversight and innovation." Senator John Thune, a Republican, last week blamed "the trial lawyers and the Teamsters" for blocking self-driving car legislation that he said could save thousands of lives.