Autonomous trucks are now operating on California highways, and that shift is raising new questions about who is legally responsible when a self-driving big rig causes a crash. Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation, a firm that represents injured people along Interstate 8 and State Routes 67 and 125, is advising East County drivers on how fault works in these cases. Under regulations the California DMV adopted on April 28, companies can test autonomous trucks over 10,001 pounds, but each must start 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.
According to Barry P. Goldberg, founder of the firm and a recognized authority on uninsured and underinsured motorist law in California, the core legal question remains the same. "A self-driving truck doesn't change the basic question of who caused the crash. It changes how many companies may share the answer," Goldberg said. "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. During testing, a human safety driver must sit behind the wheel; an operator who fails to take control can share fault with the carrier that employs them. When an automated driving system malfunctions, injured people may pursue a product liability claim against the company that designed it.
For injured people, the practical implications are significant. They 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 firm's truck accident lawyer in El Cajon, CA represents people injured by commercial vehicles along Interstate 8 and State Routes 67 and 125.
As autonomous trucking expands, the outcome of these legal questions will affect not only injured victims but also the trucking industry, technology developers, and insurers. The case law that emerges could shape how liability is allocated across human drivers, carriers, and software makers, setting precedents that reach far beyond California's highways.
