California residents could be traveling in fully autonomous cars by the end of the year. And by that we mean people who aren’t just test engineers from the more than two dozen companies currently testing self-driving vehicles in the state, but regular members of the public. These folks could soon get their first experience with a technology that industry leaders have promised will transform the way we move around.
The state?s Department of Motor Vehicles has proposed substantial revisions to existing state regulations. If approved, they would give companies and automakers greater latitude in what technologies they can test on public roads. Among other things, the revisions would permit ride-hailing services to pick up passengers in cars without human drivers on board. For now, these rides would remain solely in the realm of testing, and companies providing them would be prohibited from charging fees for those services. Nonetheless, the prospect of ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft picking up riders in autonomous vehicles within a matter of months is the latest sign of just how quickly the autonomous age may be approaching.

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?We hope and anticipate these regulations will be

viewed positively by the industry.?

? Bernard Soriano, California DMV

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Other aspects of the revisions permit the testing of vehicles that operate without traditional controls such as steering wheels and brake pedals. They also create parameters for the eventual deployment and sale ...