Story by Steve Crow | www.therobotreport.com
California is already the epicenter of self-driving car testing. But its roads are about to get a bit more crowded thanks to another type of autonomous vehicle. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) now allows testing of light-duty autonomous delivery vehicles on the state’s public roads.
The new rule opens up testing for autonomous vehicles that weigh less than 10,000 pounds. So this includes only Class 1 and 2 vehicles such as passenger cars, mid-sized pickup trucks and cargo vans. Any vehicle that weighs more than 10,000 pounds (Class 3-8) is still not permitted, ruling out FedEx or UPS trucks and certainly any semi-trucks.