Originally Posted by
Walter S
Driverless cars will exist before they can go to places like this but they won't replace human drivers and you won't be able to use the driverless car when you go visit grandma.
People living in rural areas have a lot to benefit from self-driving cars because it would give them more flexibility in taking trips without worrying about bringing their own vehicle with them. Long term parking at an airport is costly and how easy is it to find someone willing to drive you 50 - 100 miles to an airport (who then has to drive back)? Add to that the fact that you can get a much cheaper fare if you fly out of a bigger airport, then you might have to drive several hundred miles.
The other thing people seem to ignore about the self-driving feature is that it would allow cars to valet themselves in certain situations. So even if it was illegal to allow a self-driving vehicle to operate on public roads, there could be special parking areas, lanes, routes, etc. that are designated for self-driving, which are more rigorously tested and monitored to ensure the safety of autonomous vehicles operating there.
Self-driving cars isn't an all-or-nothing thing, but those who oppose it want to make it out that way because they want to totally suppress the public release of the technology and they think they can do that by mentioning a kid running out into the road to chase a ball every once in a while.