General Motors, in partnership with an acquired autonomous vehicle company, will test self-driving cars in New York by early 2018, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.
“Autonomous vehicles have the potential to save time and save lives, and we are proud to be working with GM and Cruise on the future of this exciting new technology,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a press statement. “The spirit of innovation is what defines New York, and we are positioned on the forefront of this emerging industry that has the potential to be the next great technological advance that moves our economy and moves us forward.”
Other cities like San Francisco and Pittsburgh have already allowed such technology but are still in the testing phases.
The cars in New York would run at Level 4 autonomy, meaning a human passenger (for the most part) monitors the systems and the vehicle navigates. Experimentation will occur on the busy streets of Manhattan. (RELATED: Distracted Driving Is A Huge Problem, And Autonomous Cars Could Help)
“Testing in New York will accelerate the timeline to deploying self-driving cars at scale,” stated Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise Automation. “New York City is one of the most densely populated places in the world and provides new opportunities to expose our software to unusual situations, which means we can improve our software at a much faster rate.”
Cruise Automation, the tech firm purchased by General Motors, is based in San Francisco.
“Anyone who has visited San Francisco knows driving here is kind of ridiculous,” Vogt wrote in a Medium post Oct. 3. “Our vehicles encounter challenging (and often absurd) situations up to 46 times more often than other places self-driving cars are tested. We believe it’s the fastest path toward deploying self-driving cars at scale.”
Governing bodies and companies may push ahead with experimentation in this field because they perhaps feel as if they are getting the green light due to certain political moves. The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill in September that loosens reins over firms’ ability to test the capabilities.
President Donald Trump’s administration released instructive guidelines in September for the self-driving car industry. There are several points within this 36-page document where the authors reference strategy for the emerging field of transportation.
Send tips to eric@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.