Self-Driving Cars Are Coming to New York, but Only for a Limited Time

The east coast is becoming a hotbed for driverless. Sure, the west coast has all of its fancy tech companies testing self-driving cars, but we've got the goods too. Uber has brought the technology to Pennsylvania and will soon do the same in Toronto. (Stratford, Ontario, has plans to test out driverless too!) And today we got some great news: Governor Andrew Cuomo just approved of driverless testing in New York.

To those of you on the east coast, get ready for some fun.

... At least for a year. The legislation that allows driverless testing only covers the trials in a one-year "pilot program." One year? Really? That sounds like my cable company, giving me a good deal for a year, then jacking up my bill. Only with this, we could lose driverless if the vehicles — and companies — don't perform as expected.

Companies must have a $5 million insurance policy per vehicle tested, and must have a licensed driver in the driver's seat of each car. Standard stuff.

What's weird is that New York will supervise all tests and that testers must reimburse the state. New York, thank you for bringing this important technology to our state, but you're showing up to the table more than a little hostile.

No word yet on if these trials will take place in New York City as well as Upstate's sprawling openness, the obvious place for "safe-testing." But what could be a better test for driverless cars than maneuvering through the densest city in the country?