If you were trying to attract technology innovators to invest in Colorado, what would you say? You’d probably brag about our talented workforce, our vibrant communities, and the fact that, ever since our gold mining days, pioneers have always had a home here. After all, innovators tend to strike pay dirt when surrounded by innovators.

Chalk it up to our inherent inclination to try something new. Lawmakers at every level have leapt over themselves for decades to get the attention of out-of-the-box-thinkers — spending billions to attract innovators in aerospace, bioscience, advanced manufacturing, and more. The western U.S. has always been a land of promise.

That’s why proposed laws that take the opposite approach can be so confounding. Consider HB25-1122, a pending bill to forever require drivers to sit in the cabin of autonomous trucks, which are already deployed around the country, and that would prevent Coloradans from benefiting from the many safety and economic impacts of vehicle automation.

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From my 20 years of experience in the industry, I know trucking forms the backbone of the national economy. At the same time, we face tremendous challenges. There’s already a shortage of commercial truckers, and it’s set to get worse. The federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates U.S. freight volume will increase 50% by 2050. The U.S. trucking industry is currently short an estimated 78,000 drivers due to an annual turnover rate exceeding 90% and a long-term, structural decline in new drivers entering the profession. That shortage is estimated to reach 160,000 by 2031. That will squeeze all our wallets.

Trucking is also tough on drivers, who’d be the first to tell you long-distance hauling can do a number on the body and the mind. There is dignity in work, and technology is at its best when it reduces pain for hardworking people. In fact, making life better for truck drivers is one reason why I founded Loadsmith, the first trucking company built specifically for autonomous trucks, right here in Denver.

I’ve seen firsthand how autonomous trucks will create great transportation jobs of the future, across all skill levels — including service technicians, vehicle operators, remote assistance operators, delivery packers, engineers, software developers, and more. Don’t just take my word for it: A U.S. Department of Transportation-funded study found automating long-haul trucking would spur $110 billion in spending across the U.S. economy, increase total U.S. employment by up to 35,100 jobs annually, and raise earnings for all workers. As a pioneer state, Colorado should be among the first to see these jobs and benefits — but can’t be in the world envisioned by HB-1122.

These economic benefits come with a safety record that would impress even the best drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study found driver behavior was the cause of an estimated 87% of fatal injury crashes linked to large trucks. In contrast, autonomous trucks have earned a stellar safety record, with only a handful of minor crashes over millions of miles of driving. Why? Well, unlike human drivers, AVs do not drive impaired (a factor in 46.7% of fatal truck crashes), drive distracted (a factor in 16.5% of fatal truck crashes), fall asleep at the wheel (a factor in 16.2% of fatal truck crashes), or recklessly speed (a factor in 34.4% of fatal truck crashes).

When Colorado lawmakers first set out to regulate automated trucks just eight short years ago, they said they were seeking “the right balance between regulation and avoiding the red tape that sometimes stifles innovation.” Since then, this industry has maintained a sterling safety and compliance record in this state, something we expect will be highlighted in a summer CDOT report the legislature has already paid for. At a time when Colorado lawmakers are debating whether we should fund food banks or free school lunches for our kids, it’s a head-scratching financial choice to spend money on this law before the state’s experts have weighed in — though, notably, both CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol already oppose this bill.

They’re in good company: HB-1122 would make Colorado the first state in the country to permanently ban autonomous trucks — and similar laws have been rejected more than 20 times in the past two years across the country.

Whenever I drive through the Rockies, I think about how hard the drive can be for novice truck drivers, and how much better off we will all be when autonomous trucks can handle the most difficult, dangerous driving jobs. It would be a shame to see my home state become the first to ban this critical, potentially life-saving technology. Though Colorado leads in a lot of things, we don’t think policy that discourage pioneers is anything any Coloradan wants to brag about.

Brett Suma is chief executive of Loadsmith Inc., a Colorado transportation and logistics firm committed to transforming the future of truckload transportation through the deployment of autonomous trucks. He has spent his career in the trucking industry.