It will be interesting to see how these totally autonomous driverless cars cope with things like:
Unmapped and/or unpaved roads including the private/gated roads leading to farmhouses etc.
Fords (can the vehicle distinguish when it is safe/unsafe to cross a ford)?
Homemade signs on green lanes advising such as ‘4×4 vehicles only’ (as there are green lanes on private lands, the local authority and National Parks Authority don’t sign them, but some still have vehicular access rights).
User worked or ungated level crossings – how would an autonomous vehicle know that either the local signal box or Network Rail ROC (depending on time of day) have granted permission to cross the line?
Parking on unmarked grasslands at country shows and events etc?
Brydo, as you refer to disabled people using these autonomous driverless vehicles – how would the totally autonomous and driverless vehicle carrying a disabled wheelchair user know to park itself in a disabled parking bay versus a normal bay? If there are no disabled bays, would it park itself in a normal bay (potentially trapping the disabled user in the vehicle if there is not enough room for egress)? Or would it keep driving round looking for a disabled bay even if it is a long way from where the user needs to be. It will require some input from someone (the driver/operator) to decide.
Overall, I don’t think totally autonomous vehicles can work. There must still be both a ‘decision making’ and ‘functional control’ of the vehicle by a human to arbitrate on marginal or ‘judgment call’ decisions, or situations outside of the vehicle’s pre-programmed parameters.
Rather like autopilot/auto throttle/auto-land on an aircraft or ship – whilst very, very reliable and in common use every day, it still needs someone to monitor the systems and be able to intervene with changes as the situation demands/unfolds (such as weather, instructions from ATC, diversions, last minute change of approach etc etc).
We are not truly autonomous yet with aircraft/ships and they very often fly/sail in a very regulated environment with fully trained and qualified human’s able to intervene when needed. Not the unregulated free-for-all of the roads (and off-road) with no one ‘in command’ to intervene when necessary.