On Wednesday, Jan. 8, FMCSA shared its plan to conduct a “Study of Warning Devices for Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles” by publishing a notice in the Federal Register. The goal? To analyze whether warning devices significantly impact drivers’ behavior in scenarios involving parked or disabled CMVs—and, if they do, to determine how and to what extent.

“It is an experimental study that requires data collection for evaluating whether warning devices meaningfully influence crash-relevant aspects of human performance in the presence of a parked or disabled commercial motor vehicle, and if so, how and to what extent,” FMCSA explained in its announcement.

The study is set to involve a sample group of 256 drivers.

Current Regulations on CMV Warning Devices

Under existing rules, all commercial motor vehicles are required to carry warning devices. When a vehicle is stopped on the road or the shoulder—not including cases where traffic conditions prevent it—these devices must be deployed following specific guidelines. Placement depends on various factors, such as whether the roadway is straight or curved.

“These requirements follow from the basic notion that increasing the conspicuity of a parked or disabled commercial motor vehicle makes it easier to see and recognize, thereby reducing the risk of a crash involving passing motorists,” the FMCSA stated.

However, the growing presence of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology has prompted new scrutiny of these longstanding regulations.

Autonomous Vehicles and the Warning Device Debate

Back in December 2024, FMCSA rejected a request from Waymo and Aurora to exempt autonomous trucks from the current warning device requirements.

The companies proposed outfitting their autonomous trucks with mounted warning beacons on the truck cab as an alternative to deploying traditional devices like reflective triangles or flares.

FMCSA declined the application, describing the request as overly broad. Nonetheless, the agency left the door open for exemption applications focused on narrower aspects of the regulation.

Now, the FMCSA is doubling down by launching a formal investigation to determine how effective the current warning device regulations truly are.

Using Modern Tools for a Deeper Analysis

Advancements in technology are providing FMCSA with new ways to measure how drivers respond to warning devices. Tools such as sensors and eye-tracking systems can offer valuable insights into reaction times and levels of driver attention.

“FMCSA plans to implement these modern tools in a controlled experiment at a closed-course, state-of-the-art driving research facility,” the agency said. “This setup will enable the most comprehensive study of warning device effectiveness conducted to date.”

The findings could have far-reaching implications, potentially shaping future regulations around warning devices. Additionally, the data may assist FMCSA in responding to exemption requests for alternative solutions, such as those proposed by Waymo and Aurora.

“FMCSA plans to implement these modern tools in a controlled experiment at a closed-course, state-of-the-art driving research facility that will allow the most comprehensive examination of the effects of warning devices to date,” the agency wrote. “The results of the study may support future rulemaking related to warning devices and provide baseline data necessary to inform agency decisions on exemption applications for alternative warning device products.” FMCSA concluded.

Source: Land Line

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This move makes Waymo Via the latest player to step back from the increasingly competitive field of autonomous trucking developers. Rumors about Waymo’s future in trucking had been circulating since the company faced layoffs of 12,000 employees in January. Although Waymo Via had been operating on a limited scale since March, further layoffs in March brought the total job cuts to 8% of its workforce.

The exact number of jobs affected by this recent decision remains unknown. However, it is clear that Waymo Via is redirecting its resources towards the promising potential of self-driving passenger cars.

“A very limited number of roles solely focused on trucking were impacted,” a Waymo spokesperson said in an email Wednesday. “We were able to transition many individuals into other roles at the company that are a fit for their skill set.”

Waymo expanded its lineup to include trucks in March 2020. This addition built upon Waymo’s rebranding of the Google self-driving car project in 2016. By utilizing a system that allows for the sharing of technology between surface streets and highways, Waymo has made significant advancements in both areas of autonomy.

“Given the tremendous momentum and substantial commercial opportunity we’re seeing on the ride-hailing front, we’ve made the decision to focus our efforts and investment on ride-hailing,” Waymo co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov wrote in a recent blog post.

“With our decision to focus on ride-hailing, we’ll push back the timeline on our commercial and operational efforts on trucking, as well as most of our technical development on that business unit.”

Recently, there has been a lot of activity in the autonomous trucking industry. Just last week, rival company Aurora Innovation raised $820 million in funding, with Uber as their biggest investor.

The landscape of this industry is rapidly changing, however. In March, Embark Trucks faced a significant setback and was eventually sold in May. On June 28th, TuSimple made the decision to explore a potential sale of its U.S. operations. As a result, only three players remain in this once-crowded field: Aurora, Torc Robotics, and Kodiak Robotics.

Despite the changes, Waymo has reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with Daimler Truck on backup chassis for Waymo Driver system. Redundant features like steering and braking are essential in a driverless truck to ensure seamless operation and safety.

“We continue to see a significant future commercial opportunity for our trucking solution alongside other commercial applications of the Waymo Driver,” Mawakana and Dolgov wrote.

Waymo receives ongoing support from Daimler Truck, despite a lack of recent activity. According to CEO Martin Daum, Waymo and Torc, which Daimler acquired in March 2019, are the top contenders in the autonomous trucking industry.

“We are well on our way to developing the redundant, autonomous-ready Freightliner Cascadia as a platform for various virtual driver systems,” a Daimler spokesperson said in a recent email to FreightWaves.

“Over the years, we’ve consistently emphasized that autonomous truck development is not a race, but a marathon, and we respect Waymo’s decision to adjust its own timeline. As they shift their focus to ride hailing, we continue to work with our strategic partner Waymo to advance the technical development of the autonomous truck platform.”

Source: FreightWaves

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