Driverless trucking company takes FMCSA to court in war over warning triangles

An autonomous trucking company has filed suit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) over the agency’s recent decision to deny a rule exemption request related to the placement of warning devices.

On January 10, 2025, driverless truck maker Aurora filed suit against the U.S. Department of Transportation, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the FMCSA, and FMCSA Administrator Vincent G. White in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The lawsuit comes as Aurora plans an April 2025 launch for its driverless trucking service in Texas.

FMCSA Says No To Driverless Trucking Companies

The lawsuit seeks relief from a December 26, 2024, ruling issued by the FMCSA denying a petition from Aurora and fellow autonomous trucking company Waymo to use “Cab-Mounted Warning Beacons” (CMWBs) instead of the reflective triangles, fusees, or liquid-burning flares required to be placed near stopped commercial vehicles by federal regulations.

The companies filed the request for exemption because placing the warning devices was “not feasible for autonomous CMVs without a human on board.”

The FMCSA denied the request for exemption, arguing that Waymo and Aurora did not provide enough details about the CMWBs, and they failed to demonstrate an equivalent level of safety for CMWBs.

Lawsuit Calls FMCSA Decision “Abuse of Discretion” and “Arbitrary”

In the complaint filed against the FMCSA, Aurora called the ruling “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance with law.”

From court documents:

Nearly two years after receiving the Application, without asking any additional clarifying questions as allowed under the law, and despite the Applicants’ submission of extensive research confirming the safety benefits and efficacy of CMWBs as compared to the otherwise-specified human-placed warning devices, FMCSA arbitrarily and capriciously denied the Application contrary to record evidence and without adequate, reasoned explanation. FMCSA’s decision stifles safety innovation and would impede the development of the autonomous trucking industry for no valid or lawful reason.

The suit points to two separate studies conducted by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and Aurora that allegedly demonstrate “that CMWBs are equally or more effective in enabling road users to detect, recognize and react to the hazard presented by a CMV parked on a roadway as compared to human-placed warning devices.”

Aurora also pointed to the fact that FMCSA warning device regulations are decades old:

The arbitrariness of FMCSA’s December 26 decision as to “equivalency” is rendered all the more glaring because when the applicable regulations were promulgated over 50 years ago, no actual safety data was presented to support the safety benefit of the specified human-placed warning devices.

Aurora also called into question safety issues caused by truck drivers getting out on the road to place the warning devices, stating that “countless truck drivers have been killed by oncoming vehicles while placing these warning triangles.”

“We live in the greatest country in the world, and it is my firm belief that the revolution in automotive safety technology that has taken place since the current roadside warning system was put in place in 1972 should be reflected in today’s trucking regulations,” Aurora President Ossa Fisher wrote in a blog post, also published January 10.

FMCSA Plans Warning Devices Study

Earlier this week, FMCSA proposed a study to evaluate “whether warning devices meaningfully influence crash-relevant aspects of human performance in the presence of a parked or disabled commercial motor vehicle (PDCMV), and if so, how and to what extent.”