California Licenses for Autonomous Vehicles in Detail

On January 11, 2024, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) made the details of the licenses issued for driverless autonomous driving more easily accessible and clearer. The DMV website now lists the license holder, the approved areas, the times of day and the characteristics of the operating domain.

Driverless Deployment

As of January 11, 2024, three holders will be listed for the highest license level including commercial application: the car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, the delivery robot manufacturer Nuro and the robotaxi manufacturer Waymo. The license contents in detail:

Mercedes-Benz

· California freeways and highways in: – Bay Area – Los Angeles – Sacramento – San Diego · Interstate 5 · Interstate 15 connecting Los Angeles area to Nevada

Daytime

· Sufficient weather conditons Excludes: Flooded highways, heavy smoke, heavy dust, and heavy fog, snowstorms · Speed 40 mph

Note: This technology as a traffic jam pilot corresponds to SAE Level 3, which means that not only must there always be a driver in the driver’s seat and be able to take over at any time, the vehicle automatically only keeps the lane in a traffic jam, may only do this on a highway, and always requires a so-called lead vehicle, i.e. a vehicle in front, which is controlled by a human and which the Mercedes-Benz then follows.

Nuro

· San Mateo County · Santa Clara County

All times of day and night

· Fair weather conditions: – dry or wet pavement/asphalt – light rain – light to moderate fog · Speed 25-35 mph

Waymo

· San Francisco County · San Mateo County · Santa Clara County · Portions or all of the following cities: – Atherton – Belmont – Brisbane – Burlingame – Colma – East Palo Alto – Foster City – Hillsborough – Los Alto – Los Alto Hills – Menlo Park – Millbrae – Mountain View – Palo Alto – Portola Valley – Redwood City – San Bruno – San Carlos – San Mateo – South San Francisco – Sunnyvale – Woodside · Los Angeles County · Portions or all of the following cities: – Bell – Bell Gardens – Beverly Hills – Carson – Commerce – Compton – Cudahy – Culver City – El Segundo – Gardena – Hawthorne – Huntington Park – Inglewood – Lawndale – Long Beach – Los Angeles – Lynwood – Manhattan Beach – Maywood – Paramount – Redondo Beach – Santa Monica – South Gate – Torrance – Vernon – West Hollywood

All times of day and night

· Inclement weather, rain, and fog · Speed 65 mph

Driverless Test License

The following licenses are similar, but not yet for commercial use.

Apollo

San Francisco – Downtown – Potrero Hill – Presidio Heights – Richmond – Sunset

All times of day and night

· Includes clear weather, but also light inclement weather conditions, including light rain and fog · Speed 35 MPH

AutoX

San Jose

All times of day and night

· Mild and clear conditions, as well as light precipitation · Speed 45 MPH

Nuro

Atherton · East Palo Alto · Los Altos · Menlo Park · Mountain View · Palo Alto · Redwood City · San Carlos · Sunnyvale · Woodside

All times of day and night

· Dry or wet pavement or asphalt, including light rain, and light to moderate fog · Speed 25-35 MPH

Waymo

· San Francisco · Los Angeles

All times of day and night

· Light to moderate rain and fog · Speed 65 MPH

WeRide

– San Jose – Santa Clara

Daytime

· Clear or cloudy weather but also light inclement weather conditions, including light rain · Speed 50 MPH

Zoox

Foster City, CA

Daytime

· Clear conditions, light rain and fog · Speed 45 MPH

This article was also published in German.