>Im going to wait on owning one until an auto company open sources their code and there has been enough time to examine it thoroughly. In short, bring on the self-driving cars but do not make them mandatory. Just make licensing much more strict.
At some point, we'll need to hold people to the same standard as the machines, and then.. when most people can't, we make it mandatory.
'make licensing more strict' is basically going to bring the standard up to the level of machines anyway... every time there is an accident, lawmakers will create '<victim name>s law', which tightens the requirements a bit further. Sadly, I also predict that this is the only mechanism by which requirements will be tightened.
> Sadly, I also predict that this is the only mechanism by which requirements will be tightened.
Not going to happen. If this were so, Interlock Ignition Devices (Breathalyzers) would come standard on all new cars and be a requirement on used ones. Also, we already have a law against speed limits, but even a cheap, shitty Toyota Yaris can go faster than the highest posted speed limit. There's a large swath of the population for whom car=freedom.
Not really, because exactly that: car=freedom. That will continue to be true, but it will not be 'drivers license = freedom'. People who lose their license will need to use a self-driving car.
There are already laws covering most accident scenarios and people violate them and get into wrecks. If Sally runs a red light and smashes into Bob and kills him, what exactly do you think "Bob's law" would entail? It's already illegal to run red lights.
For example, the new law could say that getting a ticket for running a red light would result in revocation of your license. As opposed to just a monetary fine / points like typically awarded now.
At some point, we'll need to hold people to the same standard as the machines, and then.. when most people can't, we make it mandatory.