Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

U.S. labor leader calls for human drivers in automated vehicles

Published 05/17/2021, 04:53 PM
Updated 05/17/2021, 10:05 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid self-driving vehicle returns to a depot in Chandler, Arizona, November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin O’Hara

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid self-driving vehicle returns to a depot in Chandler, Arizona, November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin O’Hara

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (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.

Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department for the AFL-CIO, will tell a U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce subcommittee that autonomous vehicles place "millions of jobs at risk" and any legislation to speed deployment of self-driving cars should not apply to commercial trucks weighing 10,000 pounds or more, according to his written testimony released by the panel on Monday.

"We do not allow passenger airplanes to operate without pilots or passenger rail to run without engineers, and we should use a similar approach with AVs that operate on our often-congested roadways and in complex transit networks," Regan says in his testimony.

Regan's testimony comes after Reuters reported last week that Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc’s Waymo and rival Cruise have applied for permits to start charging for rides and delivery using autonomous vehicles in San Francisco.

"Our call here is not to say: 'Stop Tech,'" Regan said in an interview. "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.

Concerns raised by major unions, including the Teamsters, are one reason that legislation to grant U.S. regulators the power to exempt tens of thousands of self-driving cars from U.S. safety regulations has not been approved despite five years of efforts.

"We have seen the impacts of automation on other sectors — manufacturing, health care, and retail, to name a few — and the consequences when public policy fails to protect the workers and users it impacts," Regan will tell lawmakers, also raising concerns about "alternative design vehicles such as delivery bots. Any vehicle that is under the 10,000-pound threshold that will travel on public roads must be properly regulated."

The efforts come at a turning point for Waymo, which Google launched over a decade ago. Cruise, backed by General Motors Co (NYSE:GM), Honda Motor Co Ltd and SoftBank Group Corp, has focused on San Francisco since its beginning.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid self-driving vehicle returns to a depot in Chandler, Arizona, November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin O’Hara

Cruise declined to comment on the testimony, while Waymo said in a statement that U.S. regulators "should have a leading role in ensuring the safe deployment of AVs. ... 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.

 

Latest comments

2020 proved people don't need jobs and jobs don't need people....lol....well do just fine...
Buggy whip makers and stable hand jobs need protecting to!
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.