Self-driving cars allowed on California roads under new law

Google’s self-driving car initiative gained momentum in California today with the signing of a bill that permits the testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads in the company’s home state. Governor Jerry Brown joined Google co-founder Sergey Brin (complete with his signature Google Glass eyewear) on stage in Mountain View to celebrate the occasion. Bill SB1298, which cleared legislative hurdles last month, establishes a number of safety and legal standards that will allow Google to test its fleet of cars on state roads so long as a human driver is behind the wheel ready to take over should anything go askew. Further, the bill sets a January 1st, 2015 deadline for California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to create regulations specific to self-driving vehicles.

California becomes the third state to give its blessing to the project behind Florida and Nevada, which signed a similar law earlier this year. For its part, Google has already logged over 300,000 miles throughout the beginning test period phase, a figure which is sure to climb after today’s signing.