California to give green light to truly driverless cars

Cars with no steering wheel, no pedals and nobody at all inside could be driving themselves on California roads by the end of the year, under proposed new rules that would give a powerful boost to the technology from the nation's most populous state. For the past several years, tech companies and automakers have been testing self-driving cars on California's roads. But regulators insisted that those vehicles have steering wheels, foot controls and human backup drivers who could take over in an emergency. Under the rules, testing of such cars could begin by the end of 2017, and a limited number could become available to customers as early as 2018 - provided the federal government gives the necessary permission. Under the rules, testing of truly driverless cars could begin by the end of 2017.