Truly driverless vehicles are about to hit the streets of California. The naysayers who said this will never happen, or won't happen for a decade are about to be proven wrong.
Tech Crunch reports California DMV Changes Rules to Allow Testing and Use of Fully Autonomous Vehicles.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is changing its rules to allow companies to test autonomous vehicles without a driver behind the wheel — and to let the public use autonomous vehicles. The DMV released a revised version of its regulations and has started a 15-day public comment period, ending October 25, 2017.
“We are excited to take the next step in furthering the development of this potentially life-saving technology in California,” the state’s Transportation Secretary, Brian Kelly, said in a statement.
With the newly revised regulations, California drives a bit farther down the road for autonomous vehicle testing, but it’s not alone. Singapore has already established zones for autonomous vehicle testing, and other nations are pushing to assume the pole position in the autonomous vehicle race.
Within one year or so of final approval (not just testing), driverless trucks on interstate highways will be the norm, not the exception. Airport taxis will follow.
My 2022 date for trucks may very well be too pessimistic.
If you have a job driving nearly anything but specialty services, it will likely be gone by 2025.
BTW, check out the new digs: https://www.themaven.net/mishtalk
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
