Public Car Fleet

I submit to you that many of the drivers on the road today are already on autopilot.

I think the first and second generations of autonomous vehicles will just serve to frustrate the majority of drivers around them because the cars will be too conservative in their actions.

There are a lot of normal situations that must be safely managed, but there are even more abnormal situations that a vehicle will encounter. To combat that, programming will be very conservative since the last thing any manufactures want is a lawsuit (just ask Toyota - Oh, what a feeling).

So, their role will be very limited at first.

No. What the hell are we going to do with the legions of disenfranchised individuals that are armed with cans of spray paint? Pretend they are not there? I'm really starting to enjoy the blogs, you people are turning naiveté into an art form. Thank You.

Hero has it right, the system would be too conservative for today's drivers. Perhaps if certain roads or freeway lanes could be set aside for the purpose that would allow for very high speeds that would drastically shorten commute times while increasing safety would make it acceptable.

I don't believe it will happen in my lifetime. I'm an old fart. Maybe in my grandchildren's life time.