Missouri Bill Would Welcome Our Robot (Delivery) Overlords

A proposed Missouri law that would open the state's sidewalks and roadways to robotic delivery vehicles drew support this week from Amazon and FedEx, both of which are developing their own delivery bots and have backed similar legislation in multiple states.

If passed, House Bill 592 would give the robots, whether self-driven or piloted by a person, "all of the rights and responsibilities as a pedestrian," according to the bill text. The robots would be free to roll on "any roadway of any county or municipality in the state," as long as they maintain $100,000 in liability insurance and don't "unreasonably interfere with motor vehicles or traffic."

It's the second time Rep. Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit) has proposed such a bill, with his previous attempt in 2020 having died in committee at the onset of the pandemic. That earlier bill was also noted in an investigation by Wired published in August that detailed the political efforts by Amazon and FedEx lobbyists to back robot delivery legalization bills in state legislatures.

The Wired story also described how those efforts failed in Kansas, where opponents raised concerns that the robots would eventually displace human workers. Officials in Kansas City, Kansas, "objected that the robots would be using public roads and sidewalks without paying into local coffers."

Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2021/02/11/missouri-bill-would-welcome-our-robot-delivery-overlords


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