Nov. 26, 2018—Rep. Greg Rothman, R-Camp Hill, and Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards discussed provisions of House Bill 1958 along with the Autonomous Vehicle Coalition last week, according to the Pennsylvania Watchdog.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf last month signed House Bill 1958, sponsored by Rothman which establishes a number of guidelines and practices for the use of automated vehicles in work zones and platooning of motor carrier vehicles.

According to Rothman and PennDOT Executive Director Mark Compton, the work zone portion of the new law relates to the use of “attenuators” by work zone crews that provide some protection in case a traveling vehicle plows into the work zone. The attenuator is the vehicle at the end of a work zone. Rothman said that Royal Truck & Equipment has designed an attenuator that works in an automated fashion, meaning that highway workers will be protected without any one of them having to sit inside a vehicle.