Committee weighs limited rules for autonomous "platooning" trucks, DOT seeks tighter guardrails
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Summary
The House Transportation Committee heard House Bill 97 to establish permitting and safety standards for platooning — connected, partially autonomous truck convoys — with DOT asking for codified limits and labor and safety groups urging caution or defeat.
The House Transportation Committee heard House Bill 97, sponsored by Representative Wirth, which would authorize rules and permits for platooning — where a human-driven lead truck and one or more following trucks communicate so that trailing vehicles operate with reduced human control.
Rep. Wirth told the committee the bill "is a bill setting some guidelines on platooning." Senator Dan Loge, a proponent, said the measure is intended to enable controlled testing and permitting without banning the technology, and to provide safety guardrails adapted to Montana conditions.
The Montana Department of Transportation expressed conditional opposition: Larry Flynn, deputy director, said the department supports the concept but wants clearer statutory sideboards. Flynn and Russ Kristofferson, the department’s motor carrier enforcement bureau chief, proposed amendments to require permits, limit platooning to the interstate and a short radius from interchanges (the same geographic limits currently used for some triple‑trailer permits), restrict platoons to single‑trailer trucks, and move the bill’s effective date later to allow rule writing and stakeholder engagement.
Labor groups and truck drivers opposed the bill. Eric Anderson, representing Teamsters locals in Butte and Billings, urged the committee to table the bill, arguing platooning would replace trained drivers and increase public-safety risk in Montana’s variable road and weather conditions. Amanda Frickle of the Montana AFL‑CIO also urged caution, citing federal regulatory gaps and the limited cost savings demonstrated in past platooning tests.
Committee members and witnesses discussed technical details of platooning systems, including mapping of routes and on‑vehicle sensors, and potential weather and wildlife risks on Montana highways. Senator Loge described how some systems pre-map routes so a following vehicle has a prerecorded “picture” of the roadway and runs sensors that can stop the truck if it encounters unexpected obstacles.
The Department asked that permitting be mandatory (not optional), that limits on where platoons may operate be codified in statute at least initially, and that the committee consider extending the bill’s effective date from the summer of 2025 to allow time for rulemaking and public engagement. Representative Wirth said he would work with DOT on amendments.
No committee vote was taken at the hearing; the committee scheduled executive action for the bills heard that day at the next meeting and planned a Department of Transportation field visit following that meeting.