Does anyone trust them? Do you think most people would trust them? Would they save money? Myself, I don't really trust them. I only trust certain human operated vehicles. In fact, I don't think most people would trust them. Therefore, I think the whole idea will fall apart.
I agree that i would not trust them either, at least at this point in their development. However, I do think that they will continue to be produced, tested, and eventually be something that is commonly used, although that may be a while yet. We have a lot of people who are not safe drivers, and they cause accidents just by using their cell phones when they should be paying attention to their driving. We see this happening when stopped for a red light, and it turns green but the line does not move because someone up in the front is busy texting when they should be driving. We also have people who are not well enough educated to read road signs, especially ones who come here from another country that is not an English speaking country. It is expensive to use a taxi, and very inconvenient getting someplace when you use public transportation. A vehicle that is self driving and works like a taxi-cab might be the best answer, once the cars are properly developed and tested for safety.
For the sake of technology, I am very interested with the Google Car which, until now, has no clear schedule of going on a commercial demo. As of the latest that I had read, the self-driving Google Car has been experiencing test failures and it will take time (one estimate is 10 years) before it can be pronounced fit for public consumption. My interest in self-driving cars is related to my age. I am 62 already and I know that sooner or later, I would be having difficulty in driving. With the self-driving car, it would be more comfortable and I’m hoping it is cheaper than hiring a driver.
Somehow I might not be comfy knowing that I am on some kind of autopilot I rather have a hands on driving. But apart from my comfort and safety I think it might prove terrible for drivers. They migt loose their jobs.
If you see history we can see same kind of fear in every moments of inventions. I think even though at first we may feel quite uncomfortable traveling in a driver-less car gradually it is going to be a normal thing as computers. But I am against those automatic cars as they will surely eat away the job opportunities of drivers. But I am sure once it hit the streets it is going to be a big success. It would be fast, accident free and accurate. I wonder what will happen if any terrorist group could take control of the system and use it as suicide bombs!
I think it's a pretty cool invention. Having an autopilot car that can drive you anywhere sounds pretty awesome, and scary as well. So yeah, even though it's "technology as it's finest", I still don't think I can trust an autopilot vehicle. It's still not human so anything could go wrong. If I feel I can't drive, I would be asking a friend or a relative to drive for me even just for a day, at least I'm sure it's safer