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Sponsor seeks moratorium on humanless commercial trucks; unions and safety groups back required human safety operators and data reporting
Summary
Delegate Von Stewart introduced House Bill 439, which would prohibit fully autonomous commercial trucks (no human onboard) from operating on Maryland roads, require human safety operators for heavy autonomous vehicles and mandate crash and citation reporting. Teamsters and other labor and safety witnesses testified for the bill, describing
Delegate Von Stewart told the committee House Bill 4 39 would, in its current form, prohibit humanless commercial tractor‑trailers from operating on Maryland roads, require human safety operators for heavier autonomous vehicles and mandate reporting of crashes and disengagements to state agencies. The bill also directs MDOT's connected and automated vehicle working group to study and report on autonomous truck safety and deployment.
"Maryland should not be the testing ground for unproven technology," Delegate Stewart said, citing high‑profile incidents in Arizona and the collapse of some autonomous trucking companies…
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