Would you happily travel in a driverless car?

IN THE week the exam results debacle saw algorithms debunked and a reversion from computerised decision-making to grading by humans, the high-tech motoring lobby announced the likely green lighting of hands-free cars controlled by algorithms on roads. The autopilot is well-established in civil aviation, but airliner software doesn’t have to run the gauntlet of distractions that drivers face. These include other motorists who fail to indicate or try to cut you up, pedestrians staring at their mobile phones who step into the road without looking, Lycra-clad cyclists, drivers who text, the school run, people opening roadside doors, learner drivers, children playing football in the street, middle-lane hoggers, weaving motorbikes, oncoming traffic with their headlights on full beam, potholes, mile-long bollards, vicious road humps, other vehicles with defective brake lights, overhanging branches blocking lighting and signs, trucks muscling their way in front of you as traffic lanes merge, temporary traffic lights, skips dumped at the roadside and emergency services vehicles on 999 calls needing priority. What could possibly go wrong?

S. HOGAN, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.

I RECOMMEND that all driverless cars be painted a certain colour or at the very least have a distinctive logo, plus be required to display flashing lights when this feature is operating.

C. A. COWLAND, Alton, Hants.

HANDS-FREE driving might be hoped to keep you safe on the motorway, but it won’t stop someone shunting into you.

BRIAN BEST, High Wycombe, Bucks.

DRIVERLESS cars are a disaster waiting to happen — just like smart motorways.

JOHN EVANS, Wokingham, Berks.

BEFORE we allow driverless cars, shouldn’t we test driverless trains? They need only one-directional monitoring while cars monitor infinite variables. Would you trust the algorithm driving towards you?

BRIAN CHRISTLEY, Abergele, Conwy.