Stop the Dangerous and Deregulated Driverless Semi-Truck Bill

I urge you to oppose SB1050 (Fitzwater), HB2069 (Phelps), and HB2209 (Mayhew). While the promise of technological advancement and the potential safety benefits of autonomous vehicles (AVs) are worth exploring, these bills are deeply flawed pieces of corporate-friendly legislation that prioritizes the profits and operational freedom of technology and automotive companies over public safety, worker rights, municipal sovereignty, and equitable community development. These bills represent a dangerous deregulatory framework that Missouri cannot afford. These bills are a corporate giveaway that puts profits over people. Their preemption clause strips power from local communities to regulate these vehicles for their own safety and needs. Furthermore, they explicitly exempt these vehicles from critical safety equipment regulations designed to protect human drivers and pedestrians. The liability framework is a disaster for victims. It defines the "driver" as software, creating a legal void. Coupled with shockingly low insurance minimums—a mere $25,000/$50,000 unchanged since the 1980s—it ensures that when these vehicles inevitably cause harm, injured Missourians will be left without adequate recourse. Meanwhile, companies like Uber must carry $1 million in coverage. The legislation recklessly greenlights massive, 80,000-pound autonomous commercial vehicles. This threatens thousands of stable, unionized CDL jobs that support families and local economies. It ignores the skilled, real-time judgment required to manage shifting loads and roadside emergencies—judgment no algorithm possesses. The legislation's "interaction plan" for law enforcement and first responders is fatally flawed. In an emergency, firefighters and police cannot be forced to scan QR codes and hope a remote operator, potentially overseas, answers in time. Seconds cost lives. We should invest in public transportation, worker-owned innovation, and strong labor standards, not hand our roads to unaccountable, job-killing technology. I urge you to reject these bills.