California Sees Driverless Cars Record 5x More Test Miles in 2024

Feb 03, 2024 02:25 AM EST

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE — (Photo : PEXELS/PIXABAY )

In San Francisco, driverless cars are becoming a regular sight on the highways. Significant progress was made in a state where several businesses have been trying to teach cars to navigate congested roads without human drivers. This comes after California officials approved a robotic taxi service to begin charging customers for autonomous rides in San Francisco in June 2022.

Driverless Cars in California: Log 5x More Test Miles

Driveless cars are praised for their potential to lower taxi fares and decrease the number of traffic accidents and fatalities attributed to irresponsible human drivers.

According to Reuters, last year driveless cars without any human drivers covered nearly 3.3 million miles in California, which is more than five times the mileage compared to the previous year. This information comes from state data on vehicle testing released on Friday, even as concerns grew following a Cruise robotaxi accident.

General Motors' Cruise and Alphabet's Waymo were responsible for the majority of these miles, accounting for 63% and 36%, respectively, according to the state's department of motor vehicles (DMV).
In 2024, the testing of driverless cars in California witnessed a remarkable increase, with autonomous tests accompanied by safety drivers rising from 5.1 million miles to 5.7 million miles, according to DMV data spanning from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023.

On Friday, the DMV announced that 38 companies had obtained permits to conduct autonomous vehicle tests with safety drivers. Notably, six of these companies have been granted permits for conducting driverless testing, including Waymo, Amazon's Zoox unit, Baidu's Apollo, as well as Chinese startups Nuro, WeRide, and AutoX.

Concerns have increased in line with the increase in autonomous vehicle testing, especially with regard to Chinese companies involved in the testing. Legislators in the United States have been pushing for more transparency in how they handle private information about people, infrastructure, and technology.

Driverless Cars Issue

Reuters also reported that advocates of autonomous driving technology have consistently argued that it offers a safer alternative compared to human drivers who might drive under the influence, text while driving, or even doze off while behind the wheel.

However, in San Francisco, residents, city agencies, and certain labor unions have expressed grievances, citing that robotaxis are causing traffic disruptions and posing risks to people due to their unpredictable driving behavior and sudden stops on busy roads.

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) halted testing and deployment permits for Cruise in October. The company is currently under investigation in several areas, including one that was started by the Justice Department.

According to reports, San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against California, asserting that the state wrongly sanctioned the expansion of the self-driving car industry.

It has been stated that there have been several safety concerns in the area, including instances interference with emergency medical responders. Additionally, in a lawsuit filed on December 11 in a California appellate court, it was stated that, as self-driving autonomous vehicles (AVs) expanded in San Francisco, members of the public and city officials identified numerous safety incidents, including interference with first responders.

The Washington Post reported that despite these significant safety concerns and objections raised by San Francisco, the California Public Utilities Commission granted approval for Cruise and Waymo to operate. This approval was granted in August and was the responsibility of the California Public Utilities Commission.