California now allows driverless cars without a human behind the wheel

Enlarge / An Uber self-driving car drives down 5th Street on March 28, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

On Monday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles approved new rules that would allow self-driving cars to hit the road without a human behind the wheel, ready to take over at any time.

The new regulations, which take effect as of April 2, will pave the way for companies like Waymo, Uber, GM, and others to continue autonomous vehicle (AV) testing on the roads of the Golden State and likely will lead to the technology becoming mainstream.

In 2014, California was the first state to adopt rules for testing autonomous vehicles on public streets. But many now feel that those regulations were too prescriptive and were not flexible enough to adapt to a technology that is maturing rapidly. As a result, testing programs have flourished in other states, like Arizona.