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Consumer Watchdog Takes A Stand Against Self-Driving Truck Maker Otto

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The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog has issued a formal complaint with the California DMV asking that they put a stop to Otto’s “illegal testing of self-driving trucks.”

Consumer Watchdog’s complaint against Otto asserts that the company’s testing of autonomous vehicles is in violation of California law:

“As you know, testing self-driving vehicles in California requires a permit, something that 21 companies have obtained with no problem. Moreover, self-driving vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds cannot be tested in the state under current regulations. Otto’s robot trucks fail on both counts. They have no permits and they weigh too much.”

Consumer Watchdog’s complaint asks the California DMV to revoke Otto’s vehicle registrations and says that the agency should pursue penalties against Otto and its executives. The complaint also asks the DMV to revoke vehicle registrations for “robot cars” owned by Otto’s parent company Uber because the company “simply cannot be trusted.

This is not the only accusation of wanton disregard for the law by Otto. In November of last year, a report uncovered that Nevada transportation officials had warned Otto that they did not have the proper permit for a planned test drive but that the company decided to defy the law because there were no serious penalties on the books for doing so.

[su_document url=”http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/resources/ltrdmv020717.pdf” width=”700″]Trucker’s Letter To Paul Ryan In Washington[/su_document]

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