Found this article while scanning Internet News this evening @ http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/29/fully-autonomous-self-driving-cars-get-lift-from-governor/
There is another concurrently running Topic here in another Thread, titled: “Self-Driving Vehicles are they that great a Threat?”
Not wanting to co-opt that discussion already at some length, and pretty interesting. I felt that the topic contained in the above linked article would merit some additional discussion as Gov. Brown has opened up the topic.
FTA ( Linked article): [snipped] "…California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a bill that for the first time allows testing on public roads of self-driving vehicles with no steering wheels, brake pedals or accelerators. A human driver as backup is not required, but the vehicles will be limited to speeds of less than 35 mph.
The legislation applies only to a pilot project by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority at an autonomous-vehicle testing facility at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station, and at a San Ramon business park containing public roads.
At the “GoMentum Station” in the former naval facility, Honda has been testing self-driving cars, and the firm Otto Motors, a division of a Canadian robotics company, has been working on autonomous trucks. The Transportation Authority has said Google and Apple have expressed interest in using the facility…"[snip]
Then there is this from the same source:[snipped]"…The new law allowing full autonomy in limited areas comes amid an ongoing debate about whether driverless cars, with no human intervention possible, are better than an incremental approach in which technologies such as lane-keeping and emergency braking are added step by step.
The issue has