The California DMV has revealed that just one company has applied to test fully autonomous vehicles on the state’s roads.
Monday marked the first day that automakers and technology companies can test self-driving vehicles in California without a human driver behind the wheel. While there are no less than 50 companies testing autonomous technology in the state with a safety driver, just one has applied for the full self-driving permit.
Speaking to Curbed, the California DMV refused to publicly identify which company had applied for the permit.
“The DMV has received one permit for driverless testing. The department has 10 days starting April 2, to let the applicant know if the application is complete. If it is deemed complete the application will be thoroughly reviewed,” DMV spokesperson Jessica Gonzalez said.
“The DMV is not disclosing the name until the application is deemed acceptable. […] The department will not approve any permits until it is clear that the applicant has met all of the safe operation requirements set forth in law and in the regulations.”
The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced its new autonomous vehicle testing guidelines in February. Consequently, it is very possible that most companies pursuing the technology simply aren’t ready to roll out prototypes without a human behind the wheel. The recent fatal crash involving a self-driving prototype from Uber may have also deterred some firms from rushing to introduce similar systems.