In order to help self-driving cars become safe enough to be used by the public, there needs to be a ton of testing done to ensure that these self-driving cars can do what they say they can, and that they can adapt and react to all kinds of situations that might occur on the road, especially when humans are behind the wheel of other cars.
The good news is that carmakers now have new roads in which they can test their vehicles on. China has recently announced that they will now allow self-driving cars to be tested on public roads. Not all public roads, but only certain roads and under certain conditions, which we guess is still good enough as far as testing is concerned.
Prior to this, China had banned self-driving cars on its highways until new regulations could be created and approved. With these newly announced regulations, companies will be able to apply for temporary permission to test their self-driving cars on approved roads. Some of the requirements also includes traffic accident liability insurance, as well as having a human behind the wheel to take over in the event something goes wrong.
China isn’t the first to allow self-driving cars to be tested on its roads, but by joining the growing list of countries that do allow this practice, more precious data and information can be gathered to help further improve the technology to a point where it will be safe enough for public use.
Filed in . Read more about China, Legal and Self-Driving Cars.