California drivers could soon see cars on the road driving themselves, courtesy of Google and the state government.
On Tuesday at Google’s headquarters, the governor of California, Jerry Brown, signed into law a bill to legalize driverless cars. The bill had overwhelmingly passed the State Legislature. Google, which has been building the cars, says they are safer because they nearly eliminate human error. They could also be more fuel-efficient, the company says, and place California and the United States at the forefront of automobile innovation.“It’s significant because California is a big state, a first mover and really a big player,” said Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who studies autonomous vehicle law. “It’s a good signal for the other states.”
- Date Published:09/25/2012
- Original Publication:New York Times