Wall Street investment firm Morgan Stanley sees the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s recent waiver to allow high-tech roadside safety beacons a turning point for autonomous trucking.
“We believe this is a significant milestone in the path to widespread commercial adoption of autonomous trucking because while the overall regulatory environment for autonomous trucking is quite favorable, small practical rules friction like this has been viewed as significant hurdles by some parties pushing back on its adoption,” wrote Morgan Stanley freight transportation analyst Ravi Shanker in a research note on Monday.
“This shows that regulators are open to easy and practical solutions to ease the rollout of this technology.”
FMCSA recently granted a limited three-month renewable waiver to Aurora (NASDAQ: AUR), allowing the autonomous truck developer to use cab-mounted flashing warning beacons instead of reflective triangles – which much be deployed manually by the driver – to warn of a stopped truck on the roadside.
The waiver also applies to all other motor carriers “provided that [the carrier] first notifies FMCSA in writing, certifying that it currently has cab-mounted warning beacons, the ability to comply with all terms and conditions of this waiver, and that it will comply with all terms and conditions of the waiver,” FMCSA noted in its approval letter.
Aurora had been denied their waiver request under the Biden Administration, which ruled last year that the company had failed to adequately address safety risks.
In approving the waiver, the Trump administration narrowed the scope of what Aurora had requested, which had been industry-wide regulatory relief for any motor carrier operating Level 4 (i.e., highly automated) trucks without any prior notice to FMCSA.
FMCSA stated that the approved waiver “cures that deficiency” by requiring other carriers to provide written notification and certification of compliance with the terms and conditions of the waiver.
“As part of that mission and our commitment to transparency, we look forward to continuing work with the federal agencies and federal and state policymakers to improve transportation safety for all commercial vehicles, strengthen our supply chain, and maintain the United States’ technological edge over international competitors,” Aurora stated in a blog post in response to the waiver.
Legislation introduced earlier this year, if enacted, would remove the need for such a waiver by changing the law to allow for cab-mounted warning beacons in highly automated commercial trucks.
In addition, the legislation, the America Drives Act, would codify FMCSA’s interpretation that federal safety regulations don’t require a human driver, directs FMCSA to update rules by 2027 for ADS-equipped vehicles, and exempts fully autonomous trucks from human-specific requirements such as hours of service and drug testing.
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