Action
Notice of final disposition; denial of exemption.
Summary
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA or the Agency) publishes its decision to deny an application from Waymo LLC (Waymo, USDOT #3000336) and Aurora Operations, Inc. (Aurora, USDOT #3441156) (together, Applicants), requesting an exemption from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) related to requirements to place specific types of warning devices at prescribed locations around commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) stopped on the traveled portion or shoulder of a highway for any cause other than necessary traffic stops and requirements that lamps on CMVs be steady burning. Applicants requested that they and "other similarly situated companies" be permitted to instead use "Cab-Mounted Warning Beacons" (including "variants" and "any configuration of similar effectiveness") when the CMV is operated by a Level 4 Automated Driving System (ADS) either without a human on board or with a human on board when testing the warning beacons. Safety is FMCSA's highest priority. The Agency embraces USDOT's Innovation Principles, including adapting as technology changes and supporting technologies that further our policy goals. While the application and the public comments show promise for alternative warning devices to provide safety benefits for warning motorists of a stopped CMV under certain conditions, the present application does not demonstrate how Applicants or other proposed exempted parties would ensure an equivalent or greater level of safety than would be achieved absent the exemption. The application does not provide sufficient details about proposed alternative devices, and the limited data presented does not support a likely equivalent level of safety for a national, industry-wide exemption for all companies operating autonomous CMVs. If Applicants can reasonably address the reasons for the denial, Applicants may resubmit an exemption application.