Self-driving cars offer huge benefits—but have a dark side

A NEW kind of vehicle is taking to the roads, and people are not sure what to make of it. Is it safe? How will it get along with other road users? Will it really shake up the way we travel? These questions are being asked today about autonomous vehicles (AVs). Exactly the same questions were posed when the first motor cars rumbled onto the roads. By granting drivers unprecedented freedom, automobiles changed the world. They also led to unforeseen harm, from strip malls and urban sprawl to road rage and climate change. Now AVs are poised to rewrite the rules of transport—and there is a danger that the same mistake will be made all over again.AVs are on the threshold of being able to drive, without human supervision, within limited and carefully mapped areas (see ). Waymo, the self-driving-car unit of Google’s parent company, hopes to launch an autonomous “robotaxi” service in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona later this year. General Motors, America’s biggest carmaker, plans its own robotaxi service for 2019. On February 26th California said it would abolish the rule that experimental AVs must always have a safety driver on board ready to assume control.