Zoox Self-Driving Taxis Cleared to Hit Roads Amid New Safety Standards

Amazon's self-driving taxi company Zoox has been cleared to roll out several thousand of its cars over the next few years. The Department of Transportation allowed this after developing safety standards for self-driving cars, which will be different from traditional vehicles.

Zoox vehicles don't have steering wheels or brakes and are monitored remotely by teams of people. They're already being tested in Las Vegas and San Francisco, where they're described as 'shiny boxes on wheels' with four passenger seats and a robot voice that talks to passengers.

Industry experts say these new standards will set minimum requirements for self-driving cars, similar to those required for human drivers. This could give the industry a clearer path to growth, but it still faces hurdles such as driving in bad weather.

Experts also note that autonomous vehicles require extensive human supervision and are currently expensive to operate.