AIBU to think we don’t want driverless taxis?

I’ve used them loads in the US, they’re absolutely fine. They don’t argue about where they’ll go, or try to argue they can only take cash. Bring them on, I say.

Stick to black cabs and you’ll be fine! They are the safest taxi drivers

I have a vision of me struggling and putting my shopping in the car (without the help of a kind human driver) and the blasted thing tootling off home without me !

They’re not completely infallible. There have already been cases where they have hit and killed pedestrians, there was an interesting programme about them with Hannah Fry on the BBC looking at incidents where they had failed. In one case they found that the car’s computer had seen the pedestrian it hit and killed but hadn’t recognised them as a person because they weren’t crossing the road at a designated crossing so the car didn’t stop. There were also cases of cars driving on pavements and failing to stop at junctions.

I wouldn’t feel completely safe in one.

I’m more concerned about the number of people on electric bikes and scooters who go through red lights. It’s rife in London and getting more and more dangerous for pedestrians.

Good point.
15-year-olds can drive out there too.
I imagine the test isn't as difficult as in the UK, either.

I must admit the thought of being driven in one of them at high speed on the motorway would be too much for me.

There are only 15 of the vehicles and currently they still require a licensed driver to be in the driving seat ready to take over.

If it does succeed as a pilot and eventually is rolled out without the drivers still in place, the social impacts would be challenging.
They probably are better drivers most of the time than humans and would also prove that the technology does exist to geofence a car to certain speed limits which I think should be rolled out as a requirement to all cars. When I hire a e bike, it has geofencing to slow it down in the park. Cars should be forced to have the same thing- no car needs to be doing 40mph or 50mph in my residential area.

The other plus is that the cars can work all the time outside a brief charging break so fewer vehicles are needed so the means fewer cars parked on streets and more space for other road users so better for traffic.

The employment issue is a big problem in localised areas. A lot of male migrants work as Uber drivers and many aspire to - it isn't that easy, they need to get a driving licence first (expensive) and then get licensed (slow and requires enough language skills). But then they get to effectively be their own boss and feel like masters of their own destiny. It's a very aspirational job for many migrants Vs the other common jobs of working in cleaning or kitchens.

I used them in San Francisco and loved them. The price might put people off - they were more expensive than Ubers.

I've always said that in the future people will be shocked we ever let humans drive cars because it is so dangerous.

Within about 5 minutes of being in a driverless taxi, I forgot there was nobody at the wheel. The novelty wore off. It was a really seamless experience, remarkably unremarkable. That said, this was in the US, where the car is king, and the grid layout of roads means it's mostly just a series of traffic light controlled left and right turns. That's completely different to European city driving, which tends to be much more chaotic and requires a lot more anticipation to judge passing places, keep traffic flowing etc.

But they aren't failing. Their use is increasing.

I suspect that driverless cars will have less accidents than drivers so as someone who cycles / walks I am not concerned about them when I see them in London. The longer term impact on jobs is separate.

I’m excited. I want to go out and find one now

In a way it doesn't really matter if they are or not as people are not always led by logic alone and the thought of getting into a car that isn't being driven by a person - especially when they can drive themselves and appreciate it is a learned skill requiring quick reactions-will elicit the heebie jeebies.

I don’t think people are reliably safe drivers, and so I’d prefer a driverless car. I’ve been in a few in the US and they’ve all seemed impressively cautious and reacted really well to changing circumstances. They’re a bit hesitant, but that’s the right way to go about it. It felt much safer than a human driver from both a road safety and personal safety perspective.

No one is lamenting the loss of the job of the man who scooped poop after the horses were replaced by cars, or the man who lit the gas lamps before electricity. We need to start thinking radically different about jobs in the new world.

I agree and while I agree that there would be advantages and disadvantages to them, ultimately it will be the fact that people don't trust them that will lead them to fail.

You get into a car and somebody drives it.
That's the way it is.

Aren’t they safer than human drivers?

Computer is already a better driver than average human with licence.

I understand the concern about jobs and unemployement, but if we could switch all cars to selfe driving tommorow, roads would be safer for everyone.

Have you seen how many people are killed or injured on the roads in the UK every day?

Unless of course you happen to find yourself in wheelchair or in a position on needing physical support like PerkingFaintly mentioned above in which case you wont be able to access taxis any more.

Honestly while I see your view I don't think these things will be profitable.

I cannot be the only person who has the horrors at the thought of a driverless car.
Or am I in the minority?

Only time will tell.

I don't love the idea of depriving people of work but driverless cars (once reliably safe) will be transformative for many people and quite possibly improved road safety. I look forward to keeping independent travelling as I get older.

They will be safer than cars driven by people. I have an electric car with incredible safety features. You can’t crash it. I trust these cars more than people.

Where I live taxis are ridiculously expensive. £30 for a 4 miles from town. Nobody uses taxis. People drink drive. Or they don’t out. Cheap taxis could revolutionise the area. The trains are also crap, expensive and get cancelled all the time. I’m looking forward to the day when my kids can have an app where we have an account with a taxi.

I don’t understand the point of them if there’s a person behind the wheel just in case anyway.

Human drivers are completely unpredictable and given the amount of bad ones on the roads these days, we will never be able to have a fully self driving vehicle that doesn’t require a safety person behind the wheel unless EVERY other vehicle is self driving.

delivery drivers and taxis are going to be the first to be hit.

@NyaxiaYou are right about the taxis, it’s so sad. I hope it’ll be a while before the driverless vehicle can drop a parcel on somebody’s doorstep though. Maybe they’ll invent some kind of robotic arm to dump it in the street!