Evening Standard letters: Driverless cars would require unacceptable changes

Catherine Hutt, of Addison Lee, has fallen for the driverless-car hype put out by the tech companies [“London must plan ahead for the rise of the robot car,” August 1]. None of the technical hurdles has been overcome, as the death of a woman killed by a driverless car in Arizona  in March shows, and there are massive legal, insurance, software, hardware and regulatory issues that remain to be addressed. Few people want these cars and no realistic business model for their adoption has been put forward.

As Hutt says, other users such as cyclists and pedestrians will have to be banned from the roads in order not to get in their way. It sounds like a dystopian vision that can never be implemented. Don’t worry, it will probably never happen. How, for example, will the supporters of these vehicles solve the problem of security, given that anyone stepping in front of a driverless car will be able to stop it and attack the occupants?
Christian Wolmar 

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