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Podcasts Take Two
Driverless car development making aggressive progress
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Dec 31, 2012
Listen • 6:36
Driverless car development making aggressive progress
If your New Year's Eve plans involve going out on the town, maybe having a drink — or two, or three — Lets hope you've got a designated driver on board to shuttle you around.
A Google self-driving car is displayed at the Google headquarters on September 25, 2012 in Mountain View, California. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed State Senate Bill 1298 that allows driverless cars to operate on public roads for testing purposes. The bill also calls for the Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt regulations that govern licensing, bonding, testing and operation of the driverless vehicles before January 2015.
A Google self-driving car is displayed at the Google headquarters on September 25, 2012 in Mountain View, California. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed State Senate Bill 1298 that allows driverless cars to operate on public roads for testing purposes. The bill also calls for the Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt regulations that govern licensing, bonding, testing and operation of the driverless vehicles before January 2015.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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If your New Year's Eve plans involve going out on the town, maybe having a drink — or two, or three — Lets hope you've got a designated driver on board to shuttle you around.

If your New Year's Eve plans involve going out on the town, maybe having a drink — or two, or three — Lets hope you've got a designated driver on board to shuttle you around.

Well, what if that designated driver was your car? Driverless cars are not just the stuff of '80s TV shows like "Knight Rider." In fact, they could be making it to the mainstream sooner than you think.

Here to talk about developments in autonomous vehicles is Drew Winter. He's the senior editor at Wards Auto World Magazine, which covers the auto industry.