Toyota will test self-driving cars at tough California proving ground

Now that Toyota has unveiled its latest self-driving car prototype, it needs a good test course to put the vehicle through its paces... and thankfully, there's already one lined up. Toyota has struck a deal to test its autonomous vehicle tech at GoMentum Station, the California test course known for its tough, realistic conditions. The automaker's cars will be subjected to "extreme driving events" that wouldn't be safe to test on public roads, and will experience a wide variety of conditions that include bridges and tunnels.

There's still a long way to go before Toyota's technology is ready for the street. With that said, an expansion like this is an important step. As we've seen through previous incidents, self-driving cars still have trouble accounting for every possible situation. Tests at GoMentum Station won't guarantee that Toyota's autonomous hardware can avert every potential collision, but it'll be better-prepared than if the company stuck to limited public driving and more conventional test tracks.