Delaware Senate Bill 46 would not improve road safety by banning driverless trucks

A version of the following testimony was submitted to the Delaware House of Representatives Transportation Committee on May 14, 2025.

Senate Bill 46 is deficient in several key respects, which I discuss below.

The first state to outlaw driverless trucks?

Senate Bill 46 would prohibit the operation on public roads of heavy-duty tractor-trailers equipped with automated driving systems unless a human driver is physically present within the vehicle (Section 2). Autonomous tractor-trailers are currently operated in commercial service in Texas, with plans to expand the service territory east to the Phoenix metropolitan area later this year.

If enacted, Delaware would become the first and only state in the country to enshrine in statute a blanket, preemptive ban on driverless trucks. In contrast, three dozen states have explicitly authorized the testing and/or deployment of autonomous trucks if certain safety requirements are met.

Based on failed California legislation

Senate Bill 46 is based on legislation first introduced in California in 2023 (Assembly Bill 316). In both 2023 and 2024 (Assembly Bill 2286), California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed proposed bans on driverless trucks as being unnecessary and harmful to the state’s reputation as a global leader in technology innovation.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates autonomous vehicle safety in the state, announced proposed regulations in April 2025 that would allow the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles with gross weight ratings in excess of 10,000 pounds. This was the result of a highly deliberative process that took place over two years. The proposed regulations describe testing requirements, roadway operating limitations, carriage prohibitions, data reporting requirements, first-responder interaction protocols, and enforcement powers.

Autonomous vehicles are already making roads safer

The major advantage of automated driving systems is that they do not behave like typical human drivers. Automated driving systems cannot drive drunk, drugged, drowsy, or distracted, and are programmed to follow the rules of the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, human error/misbehavior is a critical factor in more than 90% of motor vehicle crashes.

According to research by leading reinsurance company SwissRe and autonomous vehicle developer Waymo, Waymo’s automated driving system is already far safer than a typical human driver. Their 2024 study analyzed 25.3 million fully autonomous miles driven by Waymo alongside 500,000 insurance claims and over 200 billion miles of driving exposure. Waymo/Swiss Re found that, when compared to human drivers, Waymo’s automated driving system produced an 88% reduction in property damage claims and a 92% reduction in bodily injury claims.

It is worth highlighting that Delaware’s roads are the most dangerous in the region. According to Reason Foundation’s 28^th Annual Highway Report, Delaware ranks #38 nationally in its fatality rate for minor arterials, collectors, and local roadways and #36 nationally in its urban highway fatality rate.

No new authorities are needed to prohibit unsafe driverless trucks

Regulators at the Delaware Department of Transportation already have the authority to refuse, rescind, cancel, or suspend the registration of any motor vehicle that is “unsafe or unfit to be operated” (21 Del. C. §§ 2161, 2162). In addition, the Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security and any Delaware law enforcement officer authorized to make arrests for violating the motor vehicle code may place any commercial motor vehicle out of service for violations of state or federal laws and regulations (21 Del. C. § 4710).

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