After years of preparations, Aurora Innovation's big launch of autonomous trucks in Texas is facing an unlikely stumbling block: safety triangles.

When a traditional big rig pulls to the side of the highway, drivers are legally required to place a series of orange triangles or flares at the rear of the vehicle, to alert oncoming traffic. Aurora's semis are designed to operate without a human in the cabin, meaning there would be nobody to put out warning signs when the trucks pull over.

The Strip District-based company joined with Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, to petition federal regulators for an exemption in early 2023. Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rejected the request, raising questions about how Aurora will pull off a commercial launch that is scheduled for April.

An Aurora spokesperson said the decision will not impact the timing of that launch and that the company believes it can still comply with regulations, without outlining how.

The government said Aurora and Waymo, which has since narrowed its focus to robotaxis, failed to provide adequate data to show that their solution — a series of cab-mounted warning beacons — would provide the same level of safety as the traditional approach. The companies can resubmit an updated application, but that could take months to process.

Aurora was originally planning a commercial launch by the end of 2024, but pushed the debut because its software wasn't ready. The company said in October that it will begin with a single truck, monitored remotely on a route from Dallas to Houston.

Regulators said their highest priority is safety. The administration embraces "technology advancements that further our policy goals, including reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our nation's roads," communications director Cicely Waters said by email.

To reverse the agency's decision, Aurora would need to provide additional data showing the effectiveness of their warning beacon approach. The company may also need to narrow the scope of its application.

Aurora and Waymo originally sought a broad, industry-wide exemption for all companies operating autonomous commercial motor vehicles. The government expressed concern about how different companies would approach the task.

Waymo declined to comment on whether it would refile with Aurora. The Mountain View, California-based company abandoned some trucking efforts in July 2023 to focus more on its fleet of robotaxis, which provided 4 million fully autonomous passenger trips in 2024.

Critics of autonomous vehicles used the application as a forum to file broader grievances about the burgeoning industry.

"We continue to see too many instances where AV technology does not perform the way it is designed which further jeopardizes safety performance," Todd Spencer, president and chief executive of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, wrote in a letter to the agency.

Zach Cahalan, executive director of the Truck Safety Coalition, wrote that "the lack of data requires that [the Department of Transportation] not unnecessarily risk the lives of the 200+ million roadway users who never agreed to be part of this experiment."

Aurora declined to comment further on the rejection, instead referring to a public statement from Jeff Farrah, chief executive of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, who wrote last week that "the AV industry is disappointed by the Department of Transportation's decision."

"Stakeholders widely agree that technology will make American roads safer. Yet DOT took nearly two years to decline an opportunity to embrace technology at a critical juncture," Mr. Farrah wrote. "The AV industry will be looking at all available options to ensure that this technology can be deployed to save lives."

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