Waymo gets a green signal to test autonomous cars in California

Alphabet’s self-driving cars unit Waymo gets a green signal to operate completely, without any drivers behind the steering wheels, in California’s public roads. This makes Waymo the first ever company to get the permit in the state. California is a very homey place for Alphabet as it houses its HQ there. The company will be testing Waymo in the neighborhoods of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Mountain View.

Authorized by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Waymo will test its cars on city streets, highways, rural roads, and also includes day and night testing. “We will gradually begin driverless testing on city streets in a limited territory and, over time, expand the area that we drive in as we gain confidence and experience to expand,” Waymo said in a statement.

Safety and Green Signals

However, the AI enabled self-driving cars won’t be offering you any rides yet. Alphabet is also gearing up to its first commercial taxi service launch in Phoenix, Arizona where it’ll release autonomous minivans.

For now, citizens of California can expect to see driverless cars in testing soon. In fact, California DMV opened applications to test autonomous vehicles. Jean Shiomoto, the director of DMV said, “California has been working toward this milestone for several years, and we will continue to keep the public’s safety in mind as this technology evolves.”