Alaska bill would require human operators in autonomous freight trucks

The Alaska Senate heard legislation Tuesday that would require human safety operators in commercial autonomous vehicles operating in the state while carving out exemptions for personal use.

House Bill 217, introduced by the House Transportation Committee, would mandate that a human operator be physically present in autonomous vehicles used for commercial freight transport. The bill would not apply to vehicles under 10,000 pounds or those designed to carry fewer than 16 passengers. It also exempts small delivery robots operating on sidewalks at speeds under 10 miles per hour.

Opposition argues the bill effectively bans driverless commercial autonomous vehicles, including freight trucks over 10,000 pounds, making Alaska the only U.S. state with such a prohibition.

"We are not preventing autonomous vehicles from operating in Alaska. We are simply providing a reasonable guardrail on specific types of transport. This is reflective of Alaska's very unique conditions," said Representative Ashley Carrick, who chairs the House Transportation Committee and presented the bill.

The legislation would apply to freight trucks entering Alaska via the Alaska Highway. "If you were to have a freight truck coming up the Alcan into Alaska, the Canadian government may require something different, but you would have to have a human safety operator present for the commerce that is entering Alaska," Carrick said.

A House Transportation Committee staff member noted that Canada's Yukon Territory already prohibits fully autonomous commercial vehicles on its roads. That means trucks would need to obtain a human operator at the Alaska border to complete their routes into the state.

Senator Jesse Bjorkman, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, questioned why the bill exempts personal autonomous vehicles while regulating commercial ones. Carrick said the House committee sought to balance innovation with safety concerns specific to Alaska's challenging road conditions, particularly for routes like the Dalton Highway.

"This bill does not halt any innovation of autonomous commercial vehicles or other autonomous vehicles in Alaska. We are simply setting a reasonable parameter regarding this new technology in our state," Carrick said. "What you have before you is a bill that strictly applies in the narrow circumstance of commercial freight in our state and again, does not halt innovation, but rather requires a human safety operator to be present in that specific type of transportation."

The House version of the bill includes an unrelated provision allowing commercial driver's license applicants who fail one portion of the test to retake only that section rather than the entire exam. Carrick said the change aligns Alaska with federal CDL testing regulations and addresses concerns about the expense and difficulty of obtaining a CDL, particularly for residents in remote communities.

Senator Loki Tobin asked about the interaction between the retesting provision and the 180-day window Alaska requires for completing a road test after obtaining a commercial learner's permit. Carrick said that if the 180-day period expires, applicants would still need to retake the full test regardless of the new provision.

The committee set the bill aside for further consideration without taking action. The Senate Transportation Committee previously heard a companion bill, Senate Bill 148, on April 21.