The company's self-driving vehicle division, Cruise, received a permit from the DMV allowing it to test five driverless vehicles,
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The vehicles will be limited to specified streets with speed limits not exceeding 30 miles an hour.
They can be tested anytime of day, but not during heavy fog or heavy rain.
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Cruise is the fifth company to receive a driverless testing permit from the DMV.
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The company has reached the point where it's confident that it can safely operate without humans in the cars, spokesman Ray Wert said.
Cruise plans to go neighborhood-by-neighborhood in San Francisco, launching the driverless vehicles slowly before spreading to the entire city.
The company will hold neighborhood meetings to answer people's questions,
Cruise began testing its vehicles with safety drivers in 2015.
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