Waymo has officially applied to the California DMV to test autonomous cars without drivers in the state. A source told the San Francisco Chronicle that the company will start trials around its Mountain View headquarters where it's been testing its self-driving Chrysler Pacific minivans, though those had personnel behind the wheel just in case. Eventually, they'll expand no-trial driving to more of the Bay Area, the source said. The California DMV had predicted they'd be ready for automakers to start testing driverless cars on public roads in April, and started accepting applications on the 2nd of the month. The new rules also allow testing vehicles without steering wheels, foot pedals and mirrors.

Automakers testing their self-driving cars on California roads might be able to go fully autonomous as soon as April, according to the state's DMV. Instead of putting someone behind the wheel to take over in certain circumstances, such as when the self-driving system isn't working as well as it should, the companies will be required to link their cars to remote operators. Those remote drivers' job is to keep an eye on multiple cars and to take over their controls if and when needed. The automakers are allowed to hire third-party companies to handle remote operation. Some of them, though, including Waymo and Nissan, have already developed their own remote-driving technologies -- Nissan even built a monitoring center for its driverless taxi's tests, which will begin in March and take place in Tokyo.

Self-driving cars have been roaming Texas streets for a while. Believe it or not, though, there hasn't been legislation that directly permits autonomous vehicles -- there just wasn't a law banning them. The situation is clearer after this week, though. State governor Greg Abbott has signed a bill that explicitly allows driverless vehicles as long as they meet certain (fairly logical) conditions. All self-driving cars have to obey existing traffic laws and carry insurance.

Self-driving cars could soon be hitting the streets of the Big Apple, thanks to a new law that allows firms to apply to run trials there. New York joins a growing list of states that are accepting applications for autonomous vehicle trials. Cars will not allowed to be completely driverless yet, with a human driver in place to step in in case of emergency. New York's road system is famous for its grid-like design and heavy traffic, which could pose a challenge to self-driving cars, which are used to cities with vaster roads. Those who apply to run trials in New York are obligated to give the state regulators reports on how the tests have been going.