The next generation of in-vehicle mobile technology is a self-driving car.

As of May 2014, Google claims that its driverless car has covered over 700,000 miles of California roadways. These cars use sensors to detect objects like other cars, pedestrians and motorcycles, as well as read stop signs and other traffic control alerts and devices.

California is one of only four jurisdictions to approve driverless cars, in part because of the legal ramifications of such vehicles, viz, if a driverless car is involved in an accident, who is at fault?

Analysts predict that there will be almost 12 million driverless cars by 2035 and, by 2050, all cars will be driverless.

Another place that the Golden State has been at the front of taking action on is distracted drivers. There are a number of laws in Kern County that address this issue, and it's important to understand what these laws do and do not say:

All these laws provide an exception for emergency purposes, such as dialing 911 while driving. Even though these violations are currently non-point violations, more insurance companies every year are starting to treat them as reasons to raise insurance rates. In fact, many companies, including some prominent oil companies that provide jobs in Kern County, are disciplining or even firing employees who drive company vehicles as part of their job for cell phone or texting violations because of their fleet insurance policies.