This is a far down the road vision. It calls for a huge shift in the mindset of the consumer AND the manufacturer, to say nothing of the society. Then there is the infrastructure and error handling - what happens when it gets a flat tire on its way to pick up the kids after dropping you off?
Lets give it 15 years. 15 years is a long time for technology but not so much for societal evolution.
I can see the driverless car being on the road in 5 years and I see it being used for carpools. But the vision as painted in the post? Yes, I'm a skeptic.
Very interesting stuff though...I can't wait till they hit the road.
Who is liable if your driverless Civic drives you into a tree? What if it runs over a pedestrian? Honda? Google? You?
Driverless cars could dramatically reduce the dangers of driving, but it's a lot more complicated if a machine learning algorithm kills somebody than if a mistaken human being does.
All it needs is for someone to take liability. If you own the driverless car, then you buy the insurance. If it's leased from a pool, then they buy the insurance.
The software vendor for their part take an over-arching insurance on software errors across thousands of cars. Done deal.
Today if you have a 20 year old your premium is higher. Tomorrow if you have a driverless car, your premium might be low even if you have a 16 yr old. Parents buying a first car might just buy a driverless car for a lower insurance premium & the safety of not having the kid drive!
Lets give it 15 years. 15 years is a long time for technology but not so much for societal evolution.
I can see the driverless car being on the road in 5 years and I see it being used for carpools. But the vision as painted in the post? Yes, I'm a skeptic.
Very interesting stuff though...I can't wait till they hit the road.