Some people are excited by the prospect of driverless cars, which allow passengers to kick back and enjoy the ride without a care in the world. But others worry that the technology could lead to diminished responsibility on the roads. n a bid to strike a balance and speed up the development of the technology while keeping motorists safe, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will grant licenses to certain driverless cars and their human co-pilots as soon as September.
You need a license to drive a car. But does a robot? For now, yes. Come September, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will begin granting licenses to select driverless cars and their human co-pilots, which will make it a bit less legally iffy as to whether or not they’re actually allowed to be on a public road. The good news: The license will only cost $150 a pop, and that covers 10 vehicles and up to 20 test drivers. The bad (but probably actually good) news: You probably can’t get one, so don’t go trying to make your own Googlecar just yet. The terms of the license are (as you might hope, in these early days) pretty strict. You can read the DMV’s full text of the license terms right over here.