Drivers and roads differ from country to country, and even within a country itself it can differ from city to city depending on the people and the design of the streets. This means that when it comes to testing self-driving cars, gathering as much information about various roads and types of drivers is crucial.The good news for carmakers is that it looks like they’ll have at least one more state in the US to test out their cars, and that is the state of New York. In an announcement by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York DMV is now accepting applications from companies who are interested in testing out their self-driving vehicles on New York’s public roads.
With New York throwing their hat into the ring, the number of states that allow the testing of self-driving vehicles has increased to four, joining the likes of California, Nevada, and Arizona. According to Governor Cuomo, “New York has emerged as one of the nation’s leading hubs for innovation, and as we invite companies and entrepreneurs to reimagine transportation technology, we will encourage the development of new, safe travel options for New Yorkers.”
“With this action, we are taking a careful yet balanced approach to incorporating autonomous vehicles on our roads to reduce dangerous driving habits, decrease the number of accidents and save lives on New York roadways.” We reckon it will still probably be a while before self-driving cars become more mainstream and sold commercially, but the availability of public roads for testing will no doubt help speed things along.
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