Latest news with #Witherite
Business Wire
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Wire
Experts from Witherite Law Group say Autonomous Trucks are Not Ready for Texas Roads
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Attorney and truck safety advocate Amy Witherite warns that autonomous trucks still face serious safety gaps—acknowledged by their own developers, confirmed by independent studies, and underscored by industry experts. Waabi CEO Raquel Urtasun has called her company's simulator-based approach 'provably safe,' saying real-world testing in the millions of miles 'is nowhere near what would be required to provide the rigorous evidence necessary for a comprehensive safety case.' Professor Philip Koopman of Carnegie Mellon University, one of the world's leading autonomous vehicle safety researchers, cautions that true safety requires ultra-reliability: 'Safety isn't about working right most of the time. Safety is all about the rare case where it doesn't work properly. It has to work 99.999999999% of the time. AV companies are still working on the first few nines, with a bunch more nines to go.' Witherite says those two statements highlight the gap between marketing promises and operational reality: 'Even the most advanced companies admit they're far from testing at the scale needed to prove safety under real-world conditions. Experts are telling us this technology is still working out the basics—so putting it on Texas highways is reckless.' This comes as Aurora Innovation begins nighttime runs of its self-driving trucks on the Dallas–Houston route—still with a human observer in the cab 'though no manual intervention is required'—and Texas A&M Transportation Institute warns that AI-driven systems remain limited by their programming, sensor range, and narrowly defined operational design domains. Meanwhile, FMCSA's 2023 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics shows Texas is not only the deadliest state for large truck crashes in raw numbers—with 821 fatalities in 2021—but also has a per-mile fatality rate of 0.29 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, well above the U.S. average of 0.19. While a few states have even higher per-mile rates, Texas still ranks in the higher-risk tier nationally and far exceeds states like California despite having a smaller population. In 2023 alone, Texas recorded 650 deadly large-truck crashes—52% more than California, the next highest state. 'Texas can't afford to be the test track for unproven technology,' Witherite said. 'We already have the highest truck crash fatality numbers in the country and a safety rate worse than the national average. Until autonomous trucks can meet the extreme reliability experts demand, they have no place in live traffic.' Amy Witherite is the founding attorney of Witherite Law Group and a nationally recognized traffic safety advocate. She has represented hundreds of families affected by trucking collisions. Call 1 800 Truck Wreck or visit to learn more.
Business Wire
04-08-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Attorney Amy Witherite Calls for Urgent Postal Service Reform After Deadly Kaufman County Crash
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following a deadly crash in Kaufman County involving a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) contract truck that killed five people — including four members of one Texas family — Dallas attorney and nationally recognized traffic safety advocate Amy Witherite is demanding immediate federal reforms. 'Enough is enough. The Postal Service's pattern of negligence is costing lives,' said Amy Witherite, founding attorney of Witherite Law Group. 'We now know that from 2018 to 2022, 89 people died in 373 crashes involving USPS contractors. Not once did the Postal Service cancel a contract over those fatalities. That's unconscionable.' The Kaufman County crash, which occurred when a mail-hauling truck veered into oncoming traffic, has drawn national attention. The driver — who later admitted he had fallen asleep at the wheel — was alone on a long-haul route that, according to USPS policy, should have had two drivers. USPS has since claimed it is not responsible for verifying whether its safety protocols were followed. 'That response defies common sense and public trust,' said Witherite. 'When federal contractors ignore rules designed to protect lives, and no one is held accountable, families suffer. This wasn't a fluke. This was the predictable result of a broken system.' A February 2024 audit by the USPS Office of Inspector General found that the Postal Service does not track fatalities involving its contractors, lacks a centralized database of crash records, and has no system in place to ensure that required safety protocols are followed. 'USPS often doesn't even know who is driving its mail,' Witherite added. 'They're spending $5.2 billion on 4,600 trucking contracts — and yet they can't tell you if the people operating those trucks are following the law. It's not just bad oversight. It's deadly.' Witherite is urging Congress to act by passing the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, which has already passed the House with bipartisan support but is stalled in the Senate. She is also calling for: Mandatory third-party verification of safety practices on contract routes A public database of contractor crash histories and safety violations Permanent disqualification of repeat offenders, such as Hope Trans Accountability for brokers who profit from unsafe practices 'USPS trucks travel through our communities, past our schools, and alongside our families,' said Witherite. 'Texans shouldn't have to wait for another tragedy to demand action. The Kaufman County crash was a failure of federal responsibility — and unless we act now, it won't be the last.' Amy Witherite is the founding attorney of Witherite Law Group and a nationally recognized traffic safety advocate. She has represented hundreds of families affected by trucking collisions. Call 1 800 Truck Wreck or visit to learn more.
Business Wire
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Attorney and Safety Advocate Amy Witherite Calls for Urgent Reform After Fatal Kaufman County Truck Crash
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following a devastating truck crash in Kaufman County that claimed the lives of six people, nationally recognized trial attorney and trucking safety advocate Amy Witherite is calling for sweeping reforms in trucking regulation and enforcement. Witherite, founder of the Witherite Law Group, says the tragedy highlights dangerous gaps in the federal oversight of the trucking industry. 'This accident is not an isolated event—it's a glaring example of how weak and inconsistently enforced trucking regulations are failing to prevent needless deaths on our highways,' said Witherite, who has spent over two decades representing victims of catastrophic truck crashes. 'We can—and must—fix this broken system.' According to law enforcement, the truck driver involved in the Kaufman County crash admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel before slamming into stopped traffic. Witherite says that while the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposes hours-of-service rules, these regulations are often violated—and enforcement is sporadic at best. 'Truckers are supposed to rest after 11 hours of driving, but too many are pushed beyond those limits due to unrealistic delivery schedules and pay structures that reward driving more miles,' Witherite noted. 'Fatigue-detection systems exist but aren't required. Rest areas are insufficient. Enforcement is too limited to catch bad actors before lives are lost.' Witherite also pointed to the widespread problem of "chameleon carriers"— trucking companies that shut down to escape violations and reopen under new names—along with penalties that are too low to deter unsafe operations. Meanwhile, brokers and shippers often prioritize speed and price over safety, continuing to hire risky carriers despite documented violations. 'The families shattered in Kaufman County deserve more than sympathy. They deserve change,' Witherite emphasized. 'We need mandatory fatigue-monitoring technology, stronger enforcement, better infrastructure for driver rest, and an overhaul of how we compensate drivers to promote safety—not speed.' Witherite is urging policymakers and regulators to take immediate steps to close dangerous loopholes in oversight and bring the trucking industry's safety standards in line with the critical role it plays in the nation's economy. 'If trucking regulations were truly effective, tragedies like this wouldn't keep happening. We need a national commitment to protecting the motoring public,' she said. Amy Witherite is a trial attorney, safety advocate, and founder of the Witherite Law Group, a firm nationally known for its work on trucking litigation. She is a leading voice for reform and a frequent commentator on issues related to transportation safety. Call 1 800 Truck Wreck or visit to learn more.
Business Wire
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Business Wire
Attorney Amy Witherite: Red Flags Emerge Just as Elon Musk Plans to Put Robotaxis on Austin Streets
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A dispute between Tesla (TSLA.O) and the Reuters news organization is raising red flags just as Tesla plans to roll out Model Y robotaxis in Austin, Texas, warns attorney and safety expert Amy Witherite, founder of the Witherite Law Group. Tesla's challenging a Texas Public Records Act request by Reuters for its communications with Austin city officials. In justifying the request an attorney for Reuters wrote that Tesla's intent to deploy the unproven technology on Texas roadways makes its plans 'an issue of enormous importance to Texas and the public at large' and underscored the public's right to know. 'If there was ever a need for complete transparency it is in the largely unregulated business of autonomous cars and trucks,' said Witherite, whose law firm represents the victims of auto and truck accidents. According to the American Automobile Association's (AAA) latest survey on autonomous vehicles, only 13% of U.S. drivers would trust riding in self-driving vehicles – an increase from last year, when this number was 9%. Despite this slight increase, 6 in 10 U.S. drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle. 'Currently there is no national safety performance standard for driverless vehicles,' notes Witherite. 'Regulators have generally given free rein to companies allowing them to test their technology in cities such as Austin at the expense of the public's safety. Federal regulators are also asking Tesla tough questions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently sent Tesla a letter demanding additional information "to assess the ability of Tesla's system to react appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions." The agency opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with full self-driving (FSD) technology following four reported collisions, including a fatal one in 2023. 'If Tesla, or any other company, wants to put driverless vehicles on Austin streets they have an obligation to allow the public to be fully informed, especially since there are so many unanswered questions concerning the safety of these vehicles,' said Witherite. The Texas Attorney General's office is reviewing Tesla's confidentiality claims and will determine what if any information can be released. The Witherite Law Group specializes in vehicle accident cases and offers crucial support for individuals involved in accidents with driverless vehicles. For more information visit their website:
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Attorney Amy Witherite: Red Flags Emerge Just as Elon Musk Plans to Put Robotaxis on Austin Streets
DALLAS, June 11, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A dispute between Tesla (TSLA.O) and the Reuters news organization is raising red flags just as Tesla plans to roll out Model Y robotaxis in Austin, Texas, warns attorney and safety expert Amy Witherite, founder of the Witherite Law Group. Tesla's challenging a Texas Public Records Act request by Reuters for its communications with Austin city officials. In justifying the request an attorney for Reuters wrote that Tesla's intent to deploy the unproven technology on Texas roadways makes its plans "an issue of enormous importance to Texas and the public at large" and underscored the public's right to know. "If there was ever a need for complete transparency it is in the largely unregulated business of autonomous cars and trucks," said Witherite, whose law firm represents the victims of auto and truck accidents. According to the American Automobile Association's (AAA) latest survey on autonomous vehicles, only 13% of U.S. drivers would trust riding in self-driving vehicles – an increase from last year, when this number was 9%. Despite this slight increase, 6 in 10 U.S. drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle. "Currently there is no national safety performance standard for driverless vehicles," notes Witherite. "Regulators have generally given free rein to companies allowing them to test their technology in cities such as Austin at the expense of the public's safety. Federal regulators are also asking Tesla tough questions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently sent Tesla a letter demanding additional information "to assess the ability of Tesla's system to react appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions." The agency opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with full self-driving (FSD) technology following four reported collisions, including a fatal one in 2023. "If Tesla, or any other company, wants to put driverless vehicles on Austin streets they have an obligation to allow the public to be fully informed, especially since there are so many unanswered questions concerning the safety of these vehicles," said Witherite. The Texas Attorney General's office is reviewing Tesla's confidentiality claims and will determine what if any information can be released. The Witherite Law Group specializes in vehicle accident cases and offers crucial support for individuals involved in accidents with driverless vehicles. For more information visit their website: View source version on Contacts The Margulies Communications Groupmediainquiries@ 214-368-0909 Sign in to access your portfolio
