Should self-driving tractors work farms in California?
Cal-OSHA says more research needs to be done
A board balked Thursday at letting self-driving tractors move in large numbers onto California farms.
Monarch Tractor had sought to expand beyond the experimental use it is allowed in two vineyards in the Napa and Livermore areas.
The technology needs more study, a majority of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board said. All seven members agreed with the Cal-OSHA staff that an advisory committee should be formed on the issue.
Autonomous tractors are legal in some states but are not covered in detail under Cal-OSHA rules. The machines can till soil, spray pesticides, pull weeds and do other tasks.
Monarch's supporters said the tractors have sensors
and other safeguards against getting out of control. The petition from the company suggested rules that include having a human on site who could hit an emergency stop button if needed.
Critics said the petition did not get enough input from labor advocates. A tractor could have a “technology glitch” and fail to adapt to hilly terrain or other challenges, said Anne Katten of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.
“... If the machine doesn't register that a worker has fallen in the path of the vehicle, the outcome will be tragic,” she said. “A worker will be seriously injured or killed.”
Katten is director of the Pesticide and Worker Safety Project at CRLAF. The California Labor Federation also opposed the petition.
The seven-member board includes representatives of labor, management and occupational health professionals. It is chaired by
Modesto resident David Thomas, president of the Northern California District Council of Laborers. The board met in Sacramento and took testimony live and virtually.
Monarch, based in Livermore, describes the electric tractors as “driver-optional.” Supporters said they would ease the monotony of farm labor and the risk of heat stress and pesticide exposure.
CEO Praveen Penmetsa told the board that the technology would free workers for other tasks “away from the dull, dirty and dangerous nature that currently exists.”
The petition had support from the California Farm Bureau Federation and groups producing wine grapes, citrus, stone fruit, olives, salad greens and other crops.
Thomas joined in the 5-2 vote against the petition with board members Barbara Burgel, David Harrison, Laura Stock and Kate Crawford. Chris Laszcz-Davis and Nola Kennedy supported Monarch.