pilgrim1951 Loc: New Jersey

I have driven professionally for 43 years. Ten with tractor trailers and 33 privately having taken police driver training courses. I would have a hard time trusting technology with my life like that, although I'm sure it will inevitably become common. I had a Lexus a while back that parallel-parked itself. The catch was you had to do the braking, while the car controlled the wheel. NO WAY! Either I do it or the car has to do it. No sharing.

@bookman, it should be Car and Passenger. :)

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Some time in the not so distant future all cars will be driverless. I'm glad it's not going to be in my lifetime. I enjoy driving too much. As far as driverless today, I think we are on the right track. I don't think they are anywhere close to being ready, and I'm sure that changes will be needed to our infrastructure to make them safe.

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

Then there's the story about the guy who was driving his motorhome and decided he wanted a cup of coffee so he set the cruise control and went back and poured a cup. Maybe it won't be too long before that can happen instead of it being one of those internet fables.

Pudge Factor Loc: Texas

I think the radar braking would have helped people like Jane Mansfield and her group, or the guy driving, or actually "on auto pilot" on the Tesla who in both instances drove in an 18 wheeler. Tesla has some work to do, and this is not for me, I would rather pull the trigger myself.

CaptainBobBrown

Autonomous cars to me make more sense, especially if they communicate with each other, then having to deal with the frustrations and vagaries of human drivers. Just imagine, you're sitting back in a long line of autonomous cars all prepped to start at the same instant to smoothly move through the light but there is one guy in his antique human controlled car sleeping at the wheel making everyone wait behind him while his "mind" wonders. Then he starts up but only in time to allow a couple of the cars behind him to make it through the light. If we only had autonomous vehicles on the road which communicated with each other we'd need no traffic lights because they'd negotiate an optimum rate of passage for all vehicles through intersections.

While I'm on my rant about human drivers and antique cars...think about the huge price society pays for steering wheels. They make no sense at all. Steering wheel systems (shaft, linkages, etc.) weigh hundreds of pounds, take up space, and cost a lot of fuel or battery juice. Why not a joy stick with some wires connecting to servos? GM had a concept electric a couple of years ago which was tiny but much bigger inside because it had joy stick controls and no steering wheel mechanism. Great feel of spaciousness in the whole interior.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

It's always a tension between us old farts who have become quite good at handling things as they are and younger people always looking to move on. Personally I can't see giving up my motorcycle as I generally take two or three 2000 to 10,000 mile trips a year and I'd never give that up to a self-driving anything. When my old body become unreliable on two wheels I want to move back to four wheels and still take the trips. So, I can't see ever giving in to self-driving cars for long trips any more than I can see taking a bus or train. However, I accept that they may become the thing of the future specially in cities although they will eventually come into conflict with the much more resource friendly mass transit. I already have friends who survive without cars in the city and are very mobile and I personally think that's a better way to go. Self-driven cars are pretty gimmicky and trendy but ultimately will not solve our problems of use of natural resources--even if they are electric or other green technology. They will also never solve the issue of just too many cars and people on the road. That's my thoughts for this morning.

rcl285

Old story...3 engineers on a business trip rent a small car to get to their destination. While cruising down the road, the engine quits and they coast to a stop at the edge of the road and discuss their options. The mechanical engineers says that it sounds like a valve problem. The electrical engineer says that it's more likely to be ignition. The computer engineer says, "Let's all get out and get back in again."

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I read that book. Kind of scary what could happen if robots gained true ability to think for themselves!

will

Jim Plogger Loc: East Tennessee

Could be a major improvement. How could it be any worse than the drivers today who are doing everything but driving? Our roads in many ways have become lawless. There is disrespect for the speed limit, ignoring stop lights and stop signs, tailgating....you name it. I saw a driver on I-40 last week reading a newspaper laid across the steering wheel!

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

No auto driving for me. Our new 2017 Honda CR-V has several features like lane departure warning, automatic braking, automatic high-low headlights.

So far I have turned all of this off. One car cut in close ahead of me on the interstate to exit right from the left hand land and the thing slammed on the brakes - nearly got rear ended. In town the High/Low headlights are always flipping high to low. The lane departure warning is just a nusiance.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

I thought the problem here was that the automatic system was unable to figure out that the white truck was in fact a truck.

chrisscholbe Loc: Kansas City, MO

I'm afraid that driverless cars are going to happen whether we like it or not.

Future generations will just accept/expect it.

With our growing population, it will almost be a necessity, and hopefully, prevent a lot of accidents.

jrharton Loc: Grand Prairie, TX

How can they do this, and now I hear Uber is going to be testing flying cars. But they wont let drones deliver packages? I wonder which would cause the biggest issue, drones, kinda smallish; or flying CARS?

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

My first thought on driverless cars is liability for accidents. Imagine a driverless car collides with yours. Our insurance companies instruct us to obtain a certain amount of information. In some situations you may call 911 and a cop comes out. To what does the officer issue a ticket. Some insurance companies are sticky about securing a police report. I wonder if liability issues have even been considered. On another level, do not most, if not all, States require operators of motor vehicles have Driver licenses. Can a license be issued to a little black control box and how could that box pass a Drivers test. This is my can of worms.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

In addition, there will have to be a large amount of cooperation with Federal, State, City/Town agencies. Roadways will need signal equipment. Imagine it is dead winter and a huge snow storm is obliterating lane markers - now comes the driverless car which for all its high tech gear is in effect totally blind.