Waymo receives permit to test self-driving vehicles on Californian roads

The Google backed company will initially undertake tests in parts of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto.

Waymo has driven over ten million autonomous miles on public roads across 25 cities. California will join our driverless testing program that's already been happening in Phoenix, Arizona since last year.

Waymo's permit includes day and night testing on city streets, rural roads and highways with posted speed limits of up to 65 miles per hour.

Waymo claims, “Our vehicles can safely handle fog and light rain, and testing in those conditions is included in our permit. We will gradually begin driverless testing on city streets in a limited territory and, over time, expand the area that we drive in as we gain confidence and experience to expand.”

If a Waymo vehicle comes across a situation it doesn't understand, it comes to a safe stop until it does understand how to proceed. In such case, the car follows well-established protocols, which include contacting Waymo fleet and rider support for help in resolving the issue.

Safety being at the core of Waymo's mission, their vehicles undergo rigorous testing that begins well before they get to the road. Besides those 10 million miles on public roads, Waymo's self-driving system has learned from driving nearly 7 billion simulated miles.

There have been speculations that Waymo is planning to launch its paid ride-hailing service before the end of this year.