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The DMV just released its final rules for companies who want to test "light-duty" trucks as delivery vehicles. It will begin approving applications for testing in a month, after which Californians may soon see autonomous delivery vehicles on their streets.
The regulations cover testing both with a driver present and without. As with currently allowed testing of autonomous vehicles, there are rules about operator training and reporting "disengagements." With vehicles that have no driver in them, there are additional rules about keeping a communication link between the vehicle and the remote operator and having a plan for "interacting with" law enforcement.
But there is nothing in the DMV rules about how many vehicles a remote operator can be managing at any one time. Beyond the "law enforcement interaction plan" there is no blanket rule on liability, either.
While 65 companies currently have permits to test autonomous vehicles on California roads, only one--Waymo--has a permit to test without a driver aboard. It remains to be seen whether allowing the testing of delivery vehicles will increase interest in the permits.
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Streetsblog California editor Melanie Curry has been thinking about transportation, and how to improve conditions for bicyclists, since her early days commuting by bike to UCLA long ago. She was Managing Editor at the East Bay Express, and edited Access Magazine for the University of California Transportation Center. She also earned her Masters in City Planning from UC Berkeley.