Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into effect SB1298, effectively paving the way for driverless cars in California. For a US state that relies more heavily on cars than any other, this is hugely significant when it comes to traffic and road congestion, and for the future of the autonomous car.
“Today we’re looking at science-fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality,” said the governor. And tomorrow isn’t that far off. According to Google’s Sergei Brin, “You can count on one hand the number of years until ordinary people can experience this.” More and more Google employees will be beta-testing it starting this year, and when you hear the potential advantages, you’ll start to wish you worked there.
Brin envisions the driverless-cars serving people who couldn’t drive under normal circumstances. “There are many, many people who are underserved by our transportation today,” he said. “The blind… some people are too young, some people are too old, sometimes we’re too intoxicated.” But beyond opening the doors to people who might otherwise be cut off from transportation, it’s something the masses may quickly get spoiled by.