Could driverless trucks come to Kentucky? Measure to allow autonomous vehicles advances.

Should Kentucky allow driverless vehicles on the road?

Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, thinks so. His House Bill 7 aimed at allowing driverless autonomous vehicles on Kentucky roads gained the support of the state House of Representatives on Thursday.

The bill, which passed the House by a vote of 61-31, is similar to a measure that almost made it into law last year.

Last year's proposal passed at the very end of the legislative session, but Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed the bill. Beshear said he had safety concerns and the bill was too broad and had been rushed through the legislative process.

This year’s version includes one major change: It would require certain trucks — semitrailers that weigh over 62,000 pounds — to have humans onboard for the first two years of the law’s operation.

That change was made in apparent deference to organized labor and other interest groups that say they are concerned about safety, as well as potential lost trucking jobs.

If adopted, that provision would make Kentucky an outlier, Jeff Farrah, CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, told legislators during an earlier committee hearing on the bill. The 23 other states with laws allowing driverless vehicles do not require a human to ride along, he said.

Safety concerns

The bill’s supporters said that it includes plenty of checks to ensure safety and that such autonomous vehicles are safer than human-driven vehicles.

“AVs do not speed, they do not text, they do not drive impaired or fatigued,” Farrah said.

The bill would require the vehicles to meet minimum federal safety standards and to be able to pull off the road if unable to operate safely.

Companies wishing to operate the vehicles would also have to file “law enforcement interaction plans” with Kentucky State Police and the Transportation Cabinet. These would explain how to communicate with the company and how to remove the vehicles from the roadway.

But the bill’s opponents remain unconvinced.

“At this time, I don't feel we should be recklessly testing on autonomous vehicles and trucks next to unsuspecting Kentucky motorists,” said Michelle Grubbs told House committee members on behalf of the Truck Safety Coalition.

Safety concerns drove Rep. Scott Sharp, R-Ashland, to cross the party line and vote against the measure when it came up in committee and again on the House floor.

“We all know this is coming but … I don’t want to put a timeframe of two years on it until we know the technology is safe,” Sharp said during the committee vote.

Impact on trucking jobs

Supporters of the bill said America faces a shortage of truck drivers and these driverless vehicles can help solve that problem. They don’t expect the vehicles to lead to widespread job losses because of the need for drivers.

“Listen, this technology will not, it cannot, replace in all facets human drivers. They will work in concert,” Bray said. “It expands the economy, it expands opportunity.”

Bringing the vehicles to Kentucky could create new jobs such as fleet managers, auto technicians and safety specialists, said Farrah, leader of the AV industry group.

Kentucky could be left behind if it does not enact the legislation, Farrah said. Autonomous vehicle companies wanting to move goods long distances would have to route around Kentucky if the state does not legalize the vehicles.

Among Kentucky’s nearby states, Tennessee, West Virginia and Arkansas allow AVs on the road, according to the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association. Indiana and Ohio are developing an I-70 corridor between Columbus and Indianapolis to test AV trucking technology. For that project, all vehicles will have human operators on board.

Bray said that he does not anticipate delivery trucks — such as those used by UPS to deliver packages to neighborhoods — to be impacted by the use of autonomous vehicles because a person will still be needed to deliver goods from the truck to a doorstep.

Dustin Reinstedler, president of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, pushed back.

“It's another move by big business to weaken the value of a skilled person,” Reinstedler told The Courier Journal after a House committee approved the measure earlier this month.

A separate measure proposed by Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, would establish a task force that would study safety, liability and economic issues raised by the vehicles and submit a report by Dec. 1.

Reach Rebecca Grapevine at rgrapevine@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: autonomous vehicles bill advances in Kentucky