Attorney Amy Witherite of Witherite Law Group Asks: Will the Texas Senate Take Action? Is it Too Late?

By: Witherite Law Group via Business Wire

October 02, 2024 at 10:27 AM EDT

Attorney Amy Witherite, whose firm specializes in helping victims of motor vehicle accidents is praising statements from members of the Texas Senate Transportation Committee who are looking into regulating the driverless cars and trucks on Texas highways as well as those in Georgia, Oklahoma and Arizona.

“The idea of driverless cars and more significantly driverless 18-wheelers on our crowded Texas highways with virtually no federal or state regulations in place should scare the heck out of all of us who use the roads,” said Witherite. “We sincerely hope efforts at the state and federal level to regulate this industry do not come too late.”

We agree with Republican State Senator Robert Nichols who heads the Senate Transportation Committee, that the state needs rules concerning these vehicles.

Our open records requests to public safety agencies showed that Democratic State Senator Sarah Eckhardt’s concern that many first responders are not sure how to handle these vehicles is also correct. Open records requests to public safety agencies along the Dallas to Houston route showed none could provide examples of training or protocols in place for dealing with autonomous trucks.

Federal officials govern the technology and safety requirements for autonomous vehicles but also have failed to develop regulations. Even the ultra-conservative Project 2025 has urged the federal government to come up with standards noting … “current regulations were written before the advent of automated vehicles and driving systems.”

“The real question here is whether profits will outweigh safety,” said Witherite. “Eliminating the driver from the cab can increase profits per truck by 600%. That is a powerful incentive to move forward without counterbalancing the need for safe operations.”

Driverless trucks are coming to your community. Proposed or testing routes include:

I-45 Palmer, Texas to Houston.
I-10 East Houston to Atlanta
I-40 West Oklahoma City to Phoenix
I-10 West El Paso to Phoenix

“The fact that we have bipartisan support for regulating autonomous vehicles is important,” said Witherite. “With tens of millions of dollars riding on their success, it is important that public safety not take a back seat to profits.”

The Witherite Law Group specializes in vehicle accident cases and offers crucial support for individuals involved in accidents with driverless vehicles. For more information visit their website. www.witheritelaw.com.