I think this is still many many years away from happening. The car makers place many caveats on operating these vehicles safely such as remaining fully engaged in the driving process with their hands on the wheel and/or watching the road. Not that I disagree with these caveats. I don't. It is the fact that too many drivers will NOT respect or follow the "rules" that they must keep their hands on the wheel, or keep an eye on the road, not drink and drive, etc. in order to react to unexpected road hazards. To quote comedian Ron White, "You can't fix stupid".
If every vehicle on the road were fully automated and could "communicate" with every other vehicle within its local driving sphere, I can see it being more acceptable by drivers as well as the NTSB and other government regulators.
Having said all that, if they can reduce accidents and deaths by large numbers, even with their current problems and limitations, then perhaps they can be seen as "acceptable". There are over 40,000 vehicle accident deaths every year in the U.S., not to mention the millions and millions of injuries and damage, virtually all caused by the drivers of vehicles. If autonomous vehicles can substantially reduce these numbers, regulators and the public may decide they may be a good way to go. The two big problems are determining if these reductions are realistic, and then getting enough of them on the road with "guiney pig" drivers and passengers to prove it.
I think this is still many many years away from happening. The car makers place many caveats on operating these vehicles safely such as remaining fully engaged in the driving process with their hands on the wheel and/or watching the road. Not that I disagree with these caveats. I don't. It is the fact that too many drivers will NOT respect or follow the "rules" that they must keep their hands on the wheel, or keep an eye on the road, not drink and drive, etc. in order to react to unexpected road hazards. To quote comedian Ron White, "You can't fix stupid".
If every vehicle on the road were fully automated and could "communicate" with every other vehicle within its local driving sphere, I can see it being more acceptable by drivers as well as the NTSB and other government regulators.
Having said all that, if they can reduce accidents and deaths by large numbers, even with their current problems and limitations, then perhaps they can be seen as "acceptable". There are over 40,000 vehicle accident deaths every year in the U.S., not to mention the millions and millions of injuries and damage, virtually all caused by the drivers of vehicles. If autonomous vehicles can substantially reduce these numbers, regulators and the public may decide they may be a good way to go. The two big problems are determining if these reductions are realistic, and then getting enough of them on the road with "guiney pig" drivers and passengers to prove it.
We'll see.