Why Driverless Cars Are a Tough Sell

Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Last week, I asked for your thoughts on self-driving cars.

Replies have been edited for length and clarity.

Kathryn is bullish and looks forward to shedding the responsibility of driving:

Yes, driverless cars are the future, at least for people alive today. I’m sure there will be some later innovation in transportation we can’t even imagine yet. Cities should allow them to be tested on the street now, assuming the vehicle has passed something analogous to the driving test humans take to receive a driver’s license. I’d love to have these vehicles in my neighborhood. I live in an urban area and use our sidewalks and crosswalks as my primary mode of transportation. Given all the close calls I’ve had over the years with human drivers, I’d welcome anything that is safer. Driverless cars don’t need to be even close to perfect to be an improvement on the status quo.

I don’t like driving, although I have a license and access to a car and I drive a few times a month. What I like least about driving is that I could make one wrong move