Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health says it is reversing its longtime opposition to the use of autonomous vehicles in agriculture without an operator having to be at the controls. But there are conditions – conditions that are likely to be impossible to meet. There is also a bureaucratic advisory committee process that could require years to resolve.
Cal/OSHA says that “lightweight, low-power and slow” AVs—under 500 pounds, with 20 horsepower and a maximum speed of no more than 2 miles per hour—would be the “best way to collect data on how the autonomous and anti-collision technology works in practice around persons.”
Cal-OSHA Reporter did some research for comparison’s sake. It finds that the average consumer-grade—not commercial-grade—ride-on lawn mower has 13 to 24 horsepower and weighs between 300 and 700 pounds. High-performance models exceed both measurements. Commercial models’ speeds range from 8 to 12 MPH.
Nevertheless, other states’ agriculture businesses are using autonomous equipment that far exceeds the requirements Cal/OSHA has proposed.
Agricultural employers in California who have long wanted to use self-driving tractors and other equipment have faced vehement opposition from labor, ostensibly over safety concerns. But more automation and autonomous vehicles mean fewer farmworkers in the field, which means fewer injuries from heat illness to motion injuries and far fewer possibilities for human trafficking.
Cal/OSHA currently requires that self-propelled equipment used in agriculture have an operator stationed at the controls (General Industry Safety Orders §3441(b).
DOSH says that in the wake of the Board’s denial of petitions to allow AVs without operators (and its own opposition), it has met with manufacturers and experts and learned more about these “new-age machines.”
Look for more coverage in this week’s premium Cal-OSHA Reporter.
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