California’s Teamsters union has sued the state over new Department of Motor Vehicles rules allowing self-driving heavy-duty trucks to be tested and eventually used commercially on public roads. The case intensifies the dispute between labour groups concerned about safety and job losses and supporters who say autonomous freight technology could improve transport efficiency.

The union’s petition, filed in Alameda Superior Court, argues that driverless trucks endanger the public and threaten the livelihoods of roughly 200,000 California truck drivers. The regulations, adopted in April, apply to vehicles weighing more than 10,001 pounds and require companies to progress from testing with a safety driver to driverless testing before seeking commercial deployment permission; they also introduce wider oversight and enforcement measures.