INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indiana lawmaker on Wednesday said autonomous trucks shouldn’t operate without a human driver until proper national regulations are in place.

Rep. Cindy Ledbetter, a Republican from Newburgh, has filed legislation that would prohibit an autonomous tractor-trailer from driving on Indiana highways unless a human driver with a valid commercial driver’s license is on board and can take over operation of the vehicle at any time. She said she has serious concerns about issues such as WiFi on the trucks not working, sensors becoming blocked by debris and even cyberattacks.

“As the industry gets more connected and more data is shared, cyber threats are a very big possibility, and we wouldn’t want anybody with malicious intent to gain access to these semis,” she said.

Ledbetter’s bill already has co-sponsors from both parties. An identical bill has been filed in the state Senate and it, too, has bipartisan co-sponsors. In addition to the safety issue, Ledbetter said the measure would help protect truck driving jobs.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles began issuing test permits for driverless cars in 2014 and started collecting crash data for them that same year. Officials there said in the 10 years since, they have recorded 676 crashes involving autonomous vehicles, of which 370 occurred when the car was operating without human input. They said there have been no fatalities in California to date associated with autonomous vehicle crashes. Serbian researchers analyzed the California DMV’s data in 2019 and found autonomous vehicles were more likely to be involved in rear-end crashes, though most of those resulted from drivers in conventional vehicles hitting them. The researchers found autonomous vehicles were less likely to hit a pedestrian or T-bone another vehicle.

Jeff Farrah, chief executive officer of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, said Ledbetter’s bill amounts to a de facto ban. He said such legislation makes the roads less safe by preventing the adoption of a technology that could save lives. Farrah said autonomous vehicles use a mix of radar, lidar, cameras and other sensors that give them a 360-degree view and allow them to detect obstacles and objects in ways humans can’t.

“Autonomous vehicles don’t drive impaired, they don’t drive distracted, they don’t drive tired,” he said. “Unfortunately, humans suffer from all of those issues.”

Farrah said state lawmakers would be better off setting up a regulatory framework to guide where and how driverless trucks could operate. Ledbetter said she agrees such regulations are needed but she believes that’s something the federal government needs to do. Until then, she said it’s up to the states to protect drivers on their roads.

The 2024 legislative session will begin Monday.