US Exempts Self-Driving Trucks From Roadside Warning Triangle Rule

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted Aurora Innovation and other self-driving truck developers a five-year exemption from a rule requiring drivers to place reflective warning triangles on the road after a breakdown.

Under the federal regulation, a driver of a conventional big rig must pull over, turn on the hazard lights and put the triangles in place within 10 minutes. An autonomous truck may have no human driver available to deploy them. Aurora challenged the requirement in court after regulators rejected its initial exemption request. The company and other developers had a temporary waiver while awaiting a decision.

The exemption lets companies use cab-mounted warning beacons instead of roadside devices. Kodiak AI Vice President of External Affairs Daniel Goff said the change could help advance autonomous freight on US roads and improve delivery efficiency. Aurora government relations and public affairs head Gerardo Interiano said the beacons alert other road users without putting a person in harm’s way.

The decision addresses a regulatory barrier to commercializing self-driving trucks. Whether the beacons might eventually become standard equipment across the trucking industry remains an open question.