Autonomous trucks weighing over 10,001 pounds are now permitted to test on California highways under regulations the California DMV adopted on April 28. Companies must begin with a safety driver behind the wheel and log 500,000 miles per phase before moving to driverless operations. Kodiak AI and Aurora have received testing permits, and on September 22, Kodiak began hauling freight between Fresno and Los Angeles. The Teamsters are challenging the rules in Alameda County Superior Court.
For drivers in East County, the arrival of self-driving big rigs on Interstate 8 and State Routes 67 and 125 raises urgent questions about who pays when a crash happens. Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation, a firm that represents people injured by commercial vehicles, is advising motorists on how fault works when a self-driving truck causes a crash.
"A self-driving truck doesn't change the basic question of who caused the crash. It changes how many companies may share the answer," said Barry P. Goldberg, founder of the firm and a recognized authority on uninsured and underinsured motorist law in California. "The key evidence lives in the truck's software and sensor logs, and the companies on the other side control those records."
In conventional truck crashes, fault can rest with the driver, the trucking company, the business that loaded the cargo, or the shop that maintained the vehicle. Self-driving trucks add two new layers. First, the safety driver: during testing, a human operator must sit behind the wheel, and an operator who fails to take control can share fault with the carrier that employs them. Second, the technology company: when an automated driving system malfunctions, injured people may pursue a product liability claim against the company that designed it.
The implications for the legal industry are significant. Attorneys will need to untangle multiple defendants, obtain and interpret complex software and sensor data, and litigate against well-funded technology firms. For injured people, the path to compensation may involve claims against parties that never set foot on the road. The firm's truck accident lawyer in El Cajon, CA, represents clients along these local corridors and emphasizes that early action is critical to preserve evidence.
Injured people should note the company names on the truck and contact a lawyer early, so every company involved receives a letter requiring it to keep its records, including software and sensor logs. Whatever happens with the Teamsters' lawsuit, California law still lets them pursue every party that contributed to the crash.
The shift also affects insurers, fleet operators, and regulators. As autonomous miles accumulate, courts will define how traditional negligence principles apply to machine decisions. The outcome of the Teamsters' challenge could shape how quickly driverless operations expand. For now, the law remains clear on one point: multiple parties can be held accountable, and evidence control will be a central battleground.
