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FMCSA Grants Aurora Five-Year Exemption From Warning Triangles

So whatFleets running Level 4 autonomous trucks: file written notice with FMCSA before using beacons, meet the five-minute activation and SAE J595 specs, and report crashes within five days.
FreightFiles Desk | October 8, 2026

FMCSA granted Aurora Operations, Inc. a five-year exemption from the rules requiring drivers to place reflective warning triangles around a stopped commercial vehicle, the agency said in the notice. The exemption, effective October 7, 2026 through October 7, 2031, also covers any other motor carrier running Level 4 automated driving system trucks that gives FMCSA prior written notice. It lifts 49 CFR 392.22(b), 393.25(e) and 393.95(f) so carriers can use cab-mounted amber beacons instead of ground triangles or fusees.

FMCSA had denied a broader version of this request in 2024 for lacking data and controls. This time the agency cited more than 500,000 miles Aurora logged under a waiver with no beacon malfunctions or related crashes, plus studies from Aurora and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute showing comparable or better driver response to beacons versus triangles.

The agency received 402 comments. Trucking associations, AVIA, AUVSI and several AV developers backed the request; OOIDA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and many individual drivers opposed it, citing jackknife risk, blocked sightlines and insufficient real-world testing.

Conditions include SAE J595 Class 1 beacon performance, redundant power, five-minute activation, operation only within a truck's validated operational design domain, a ban on hazmat and passenger operations, five-day crash reporting and annual reports due each November 1.

What's next

  • 2026-10-07: Exemption takes effect for Aurora and notifying carriers.
  • Annual reports due by November 1 each year of operation.
  • Exemption expires 2026-10-07/2031-10-07 unless renewed or revoked for noncompliance.

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FMCSA Grants Aurora Five-Year Exemption From Warning Triangles
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