In a notable move which marks the beginning of the process of legalizing driverless cars in California, the state’s Senate recently passed a legislation that requires the DMV to set guidelines for the safety and performance of self-driving vehicles.

The brief bill – SB 1298 – was unanimously passed by the California legislators on August 29. It lays down certain basic requirements that the DMV and the Department of the California Highway Patrol need to work with while setting down safety and performance guidelines for "autonomous vehicles," which have been defined as ‘driverless’ cars that use “computers, sensors, and other technology and devices” to run without a human operator.

The bill states that the operation of driverless vehicles is currently neither prohibited nor specifically regulated by the State of California; and the state would like to encourage the “current and future development, testing, and operation of autonomous vehicles” on its public roads.

The bill also said that to avoid any interruption to the ongoing activities on the “autonomous vehicles” front, the state wants that “appropriate rules” to be created, so that it can be ensured that the testing and operation of driverless cars in the state is carried out in a safe manner.

Towards that end, the bill said that the Legislature deems it fit “to authorize the establishment of specific safety requirements for the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles,” and to entail that the testing and operation of such vehicles in the future “comply with those requirements.”