Alaska considers ban on driverless commercial trucks amid safety debate

The Alaska House Community and Regional Affairs Committee heard public testimony Tuesday on legislation that would make Alaska the only state to require human drivers in all commercial autonomous vehicles.

House Bill 217 would mandate a human safety operator in every commercial autonomous vehicle operating in Alaska. This would effectively prevent companies from deploying driverless trucks and other commercial vehicles. The bill contains no pilot program provisions, permit pathways, or sunset clause that would allow future reconsideration of the technology.

Two industry representatives testified against the measure. They argued that autonomous vehicles could address Alaska's truck driver shortage while improving road safety.

Robert Singleton said research shows 90 percent of car crashes result from preventable human error, mainly distracted driving and driving under the influence.

"By virtue of the fact that autonomous vehicles cannot drive impaired, let alone violate the programming and thus the rules of the road, this is not a problem," Singleton said. He cited data showing autonomous vehicles recorded 90 percent fewer serious or fatal crashes when comparing 127 million rider-only miles performed last year to traditional vehicles.

Renee Gibson, vice president of government affairs for the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, said the bill would make Alaska a national outlier. "No state has banned driverless operations," Gibson said. Her organization represents autonomous vehicle companies that have driven hundreds of millions of miles on U.S. public roads.

Gibson argued that autonomous trucking could help address supply chain challenges as freight demand increases while the trucking industry faces significant driver shortages. She said autonomous vehicle deployment creates new jobs in fleet operations, maintenance, mapping, and remote assistance in states that have welcomed the technology.

Both witnesses expressed concern that the bill would prevent even testing of autonomous vehicles on Alaska's unique road conditions. "We want to acknowledge that Alaska roads are different than the lower 48 and what our members are interested in is being able to test provide some opportunities in Alaska," Gibson said.

The industry representatives also criticized liability provisions in the bill that would assign fault to human safety operators regardless of actual crash circumstances. They argued this approach contradicts standard traffic accident investigations that determine fault based on specific circumstances.

Committee members did not take action on HB 217 during Tuesday's hearing. Committee staff said they are waiting for a committee substitute from the bill's sponsor before proceeding. The committee plans to schedule additional discussion time for the bill at a future meeting.