Waymo's autonomous driving tests do not require a safety officer and will launch commercial driverless online ride-hailing vehicles by the end of the year

According to foreign media reports, Waymo became the first company in California, USA, to conduct fully automatic driverless tests on October 30.

In most autonomous driving tests, although the goal is to eliminate the need for a driver, a safety officer will still be present during the test for safety reasons to take over the vehicle in an emergency.

Waymo will deploy more than 30 test vehicles without safety drivers. Waymo will begin autonomous driving tests on urban roads in Silicon Valley.

Waymo is also testing self-driving cars without safety drivers in Arizona, where it has said it will launch a commercial driverless ride-hailing service by the end of 2018.

Waymo will continuously monitor the status of the test vehicle and provide two-way communication for passengers, as well as at least 5 million insurance. Waymo can test on city streets, rural roads and highways at a speed not exceeding 65 miles per hour. Waymo is also allowed to test in foggy and light rainy weather.

Under the new rules, testing will require remote control technology, which is being developed by Waymo, Nissan Motor and some startups, so that a remote operator can take control of the vehicle if its self-driving system encounters problems.

Currently, there are about 60 companies in California testing self-driving vehicles, all equipped with safety drivers. However, California has allowed companies to test vehicles on public roads without drivers since April 1 this year.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.