Waymo gets California green light for public driverless tests

Waymo has been granted a licence to test fully-driverless cars on public roads in California. It is the first company to be given the green light for such trials in the state – and it means there will be no test driver sitting in the driver’s seat. The permit includes day and night testing on city streets, rural roads and highways with speed limits of up to 65mph. Waymo insists: “Our vehicles can safely handle fog and light rain, and testing in those conditions is included in our permit. We will gradual
November 2, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
8621 Waymo has been granted a licence to test fully-driverless cars on public roads in California.


It is the first company to be given the green light for such trials in the state – and it means there will be no test driver sitting in the driver’s seat.

The permit includes day and night testing on city streets, rural roads and highways with speed limits of up to 65mph.

Waymo insists: “Our vehicles can safely handle fog and light rain, and testing in those conditions is included in our permit. 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.”

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (3785 DMV) licence gives the company permission to drive in the Bay Area between San Francisco and San Jose, near where Waymo has its HQ.

It includes parts of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto.

In a %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external statement false https://medium.com/waymo/a-green-light-for-waymos-driverless-testing-in-california-a87ec336d657 false false%>, the company says: “Mountain View is home to more than a dozen autonomous vehicle companies, and has supported safe testing for years. Prior to expanding the territory for driverless testing, we will notify the new communities where this expansion will occur, and submit a request to the DMV.”

Waymo was given a licence for similar tests in Phoenix, Arizona in 2017. The first riders in the Bay Area cars will be Waymo staff – but, as in Arizona, Waymo plans to have an %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 30764 0 link-external early rider programme false /sections/nafta/news/waymo-announces-early-rider-program/ false false%> in California to “create opportunities for members of the public to experience this technology”.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lyft Green Mode option allows riders to request electric and hybrid vehicles
    April 17, 2019
    Lyft is launching a Green Mode feature within its app to provide riders in Seattle with the option to travel in an electric or hybrid vehicle. The move follows the company’s planned introduction of thousands of electric vehicles (EVs) onto its platform this year. Lyft says the deployment will allow its drivers to increase net earnings as it says the cost of travelling in an EV is half that of a petrol-powered car, therefore saving hundreds of dollars per month on fuel costs. Drivers can switch
    Read More
  • Gemalto, Powa and Verifone confirmed for CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014
    July 9, 2014
    The 29th CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS event theme is ‘Users on the move’, said exhibition director Isabelle Alfano. Speaking at the press launch of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014 in Paris, Alfano announced that more than 20,000 visitors and nearly 450 exhibitors are expected from 140 countries. The three-day event from 4 to 6 November is the most important in the industry, bringing together the biggest range of solutions worldwide in terms of payment, identification and mobility. DataCard, American Express, Gema
    Read More
  • Gemalto, Powa and Verifone confirmed for CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014
    July 9, 2014
    The 29th CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS event theme is ‘Users on the move’, said exhibition director Isabelle Alfano. Speaking at the press launch of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014 in Paris, Alfano announced that more than 20,000 visitors and nearly 450 exhibitors are expected from 140 countries. The three-day event from 4 to 6 November is the most important in the industry, bringing together the biggest range of solutions worldwide in terms of payment, identification and mobility. DataCard, American Express, Gema
    Read More
  • Logging on to public transport
    November 15, 2012
    Cape Town’s public transport commuters can now use their cell phones to access real-time timetables and plan their routes, whether they are travelling by train, taxi, MyCiTi buses or the city’s Golden Arrow Bus service. FindMyWay is a free public service website that brings together all the modes of transport within the city, so that commuters can easily access the information in one place. Logging on to www.findmyway.mobi and www.gometro.co.za from a cell phone with an internet connection gives commuters
    Read More

Highlighted Content