Those from many generations ago were convinced that there would be flying cars roaming our streets by now. Although there is rumor of such advancements, there is no sight of tireless, floating cars just yet. For now, imagine a world where you can hail a taxi without the worry of encountering an awkward conversation with a stranger. Now, imagine a world where this became more normal than a taxi with a human driver.
Well- that world may not be too far behind us.
California regulators officially gave life to Cruise’s idea on Thursday by granting approval to launch its driverless ride-hailing service. Specifically, the company gained access to a driverless deployment permit, being California’s first recipients. This is the first of many companies to actually be approved to attempt such services in California, especially within an area such as San Fransisco where it is rarely not congested. The first stage in this approval will allow these robotic taxi’s to operate from 10 pm to 6 am in order to minimize the chances of possible property damage, injuries or even death. This first stage will also allow these regulators to assess the idea’s overall effectiveness, and further determine its practicality.
The autonomous car company, Cruise, aims to implement action into their overall main goals through this project- to save lives, save the planet, and to save people time and money. This interest in driverless cars is nothing new, however. According to McKinsey, more than $100 billion has been invested into this sort of advancing technology since 2010, in a major attempt to get these vehicles on the roads.
Beyond the obvious convenience that this service provides, what it really is aimed to do is to help reduce congestion on the city streets, give alternative for those unable to drive themselves, as well as decrease the amount of crashes and the injuries coming from such. These vehicles are equipped with technologies- such as cameras, radar sensors, and object recognition- in order to efficiently produce such safety precautions and statistical improvements.
This could possibly be the definitive step for a surge of driverless cars to be permitted into the streets of the United States- or it could be the provisional step.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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