California Opens Public Road for Driverless Car Testing
California is opening its public roads for fully autonomous vehicles, taking out the requirement to have backup drivers to take on the wheels in case of emergency.
On Monday, California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced that it is lifting the original requirement for self-driving vehicles to have a backup driver when taking public roads. This gives some 50 companies an opportunity to test out their vehicles in the state.
The new regulations require instead that the companies should be able to control their cars remotely, as if they were flying drones. They should also inform authorities if ever they encounter any accident on the road.
According to further reports, DMV will put up a notice on its website on March 2, which will give companies 30 days to apply for licenses. The first batch will be issued on April 2. There will be three kinds of permits: testing with a safety driver, driverless testing, and deployment.
This new development from California is a huge step for autonomous vehicles, which need to be tested on wider roads to be able to explore their capabilities and later be launched as fully driverless.
"This is a major step forward for autonomous technology in California," said DMV director Jean Shiomoto in an official 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."
Previously, Arizona has opened its roads for fully autonomous vehicles without any requirements. In October, Alphabet's vehicle division Waymo began operating self-driving mini vans on the state's public roads.
Uber has also been testing out its cars in the Arizona state, but has yet to remove a backup driver. In a statement, Uber spokesperson Sarah Abboud lauded California's latest move.
"This is a significant step toward an autonomous future in the state, and signals that California is interested in leading by example in the deployment of autonomous vehicles," said Abboud.
Not everyone is happy about this news, however. Consumer Watchdog director John M. Simpson said the new rules are a threat to road safety. He compared the companies' attempt to remotely control cars to a video game "except lives will be at stake."
