Safety

The fantasy is that network-linked automated cars will be able to drive safely at 120 MPH with 5 feet of distance between them. And, sure, about the time I'm uploading my brain into my new robot body, but the reality is that for a long time, if they're going to be safe they're going to be the most annoying drivers, both for their passengers and for everyone around them.

I experienced this firsthand this year at the Consumer Electronics Show as I rode in a Level 3 vehicle on the streets of Las Vegas. I equated the experience to having my grandmother driving me around as the vehicle waited to turn right at a crosswalk, causing the human driver behind us to lay into his horn.

The vehicle also slowed down every time it perceived an adjacent car was drifting toward our lane.

And they still won't work in a useful sense.