Self-Driving Car Testing Rules Adopted by California

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California has new rules that govern the testing of self-driving cars on public roads.

The rules, approved on May 19 by state attorneys, require a human to be in the driver’s seat when a computer takes control during testing. They’re a response to a 2012 law that will allow personal use of self-driving cars in the future.

Google and other companies already have sent computer-driven cars hundreds of thousands of miles in California. The regulations, which take effect Sept. 16, also cover insurance, licensing and other issues.

They’re an attempt to catch up with technology that could be commercially available by decade’s end. Currently driverless cars are a gray area of the law.