The logo of the American automaker General Motors (GM).
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Bill Pugliano Getty
The race for the best autonomous car continues.
Cruise, the General Motors subsidiary responsible for developing this technology, has had the right since last October to carry out tests without a safety driver being behind the wheel.
Several company vehicles are already plying the streets of San Francisco, United States, reports
The Verge
.
The company could already circulate its vehicles in California since 2005 but this recent authorization allows it to go even further.
For safety, Cruise however decided to leave a human on the passenger side during this new test phase.
Someone on the passenger side
The latter can press an emergency switch in the event of a problem, but he does not have access to the controls of the car.
Ultimately, however, the specialized division of General Motors hopes to be able to part with this type of assistant.
So far, only five of its all-electric Chevrolet Bolts can drive in specific locations in the city.
They cannot exceed the speed of 48 km / h and cannot drive if there is a lot of rain or fog.
Lagging behind Google
Before arriving at this fourth phase of testing, Cruise's vehicles traveled more than 3.2 million kilometers in San Francisco.
The company has not given up on launching a commercial autonomous car service, initially announced for the end of 2019 but postponed.
Its competitor Waymo, which belongs to Alphabet (the parent company of Google), nevertheless has a considerable lead.
The company has been running cars without a safety driver for over a year.
It is even now considering offering its autonomous taxis to the general public.
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