The California Department of Motor Vehicles has just been given approval by the state to start creating regulations to allow driver-less car testing to happen throughout the state. This will allow technology companies to further push the boundaries of their testing especially in the area of autonomous vehicles.
Many companies who have been known to be testing that technology resides around the California state area and whilst Phoenix was the first place to allow driver-less testing, it’s about time that California passed the same laws.
“This is a major step forward for autonomous technology in California,” DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said in a prepared statement. “Safety is our top concern and we are ready to begin working with manufacturers that are prepared to test fully driverless vehicles in California.”
In previous testing scenarios, a driver must always be present in order for them to take control of the vehicle in situations where technology has failed. This new environment would allow companies to remotely control the cars whilst also monitoring the vehicle and gathering enough data to get a full production ready autonomous vehicle on the road.
