How California Turned the Self Driving Car into the Ugly Duckling

Featured article by Jeremy Sutter, Independent Technology Author

Just one day after California authorities banned Uber’s autonomous car program in the state, Uber on Thursday decided to pick their self-driving vehicles and relocate to Arizona.

This sudden move was necessitated by the collapse of Uber’s pilot program in the state of California, a program that had only run for one week. The California authorities had directed Uber to apply for a $150 permit so as to use the public roads in the state. Uber, however, declined the order and decided to pull out. An emailed statement from an Uber spokeswoman indicated that Uber self- driving cars had already departed by truck to Arizona. Uber is planning to expand its self-driving piloting in Arizona for a couple of weeks since they have the support of Arizona state Governor, Doug Ducey. You can view to get more information

How Uber left California

Uber launched its autonomous vehicle program in San Francisco last week. But just a few hours after launching the self –driving car program, California authorities through DMV informed the company that it was breaching the law and was required to halt its operations until a permit was sought. Uber, however, declined to keep off the California state roads.

The office of the Attorney General in California came in to ensure that Uber leaves the State. A letter was sent to Uber demanding that the company removes its vehicles from the California state immediately. The letter further stated that Uber would only be allowed back to the roads after obtaining the permit. If Uber could not withdraw its self-driving cars, then the Office of the Attorney General would ‘seek injunctive and any other appropriate relief.’ Despite all this, Uber remained unshaken and continued testing its autonomous car drives on the streets of California.

The DMV then moved on and announced that it was ‘revoking the registration of 16 of the Uber’s autonomous vehicles. Jean Shiomoto, the director of California’s DMV, Wrote a letter to Uber saying that the autonomous vehicle technology used by Uber “holds the promise of enhanced safety and mobility but must be tested responsibly.” Pressure piled up on Uber to comply and get a permit just as other autonomous companies including GOOGLE, Honda, BMW and Ford had done. Uber finally gave in and announced that it had halted the services of its self – driving car pilot in California. Later, Uber decided to pull out of California.

Arizona State Welcomes Uber

Just one day after Uber quit Arizona; the company relocated to Arizona State to continue with its self-driving car tests. A statement issued by the office of the Governor of Arizona said that Uber decided to move to Arizona due to California’s burdensome regulations. A tweet on the governor’s Twitter handle read “#Arizona welcomes @Uber self-driving cars with open arms and wide open roads.” This is a clear indication that Arizona welcomes Uber to do its self-driving tests in the state.

Uber, on the other hand, has warmly accepted the reception given by Arizona State. On Thursday, Uber admitted that they were excited to have the support of Governor Ducey. You can visit to view more details.

Will the Insurance policies in Arizona favor Uber?

Now that Uber has committed itself to testing its autonomous vehicles in Arizona, it will be important to get the right auto insurance for their vehicles. To get Arizona auto coverage, Uber will need to learn about the Arizona Auto Insurance Laws and Regulations.

There are four things that define the auto insurance industry in Arizona. The first is the fact that Arizona is a “fault” Insurance state. This means that self-driving cars will have to get their new regulations since the fully autonomous vehicles will not have drivers. Laws that are set by the NHTSA may apply to all states, which will save Uber a lot of trouble when adopting the different auto insurance policies available in Arizona. To learn more about Arizona Auto insurance rules, you can visit.