Driverless cars were the future but now the truth is out: they’re on the road to nowhere

For all the billions spent, the dream of these vehicles ruling the roads remains just that. It would be much smarter to focus on public transport, writes  Christian Wolmar

It was the promise of greater safety, cutting the terrible worldwide annual roads death toll of 1.25 million, that the sponsors of driverless vehicles dangled in front of the public. And that is now proving their undoing.

Developing driverless cars has been AI’s greatest test. Today, we can say it has failed miserably, despite the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars in attempts to produce a viable commercial vehicle. 

Moreover, the recent withdrawal from the market of a leading provider of robotaxis in the US, coupled with the introduction of strict legislation in the UK, suggests the developers’ hopes of monetising the concept are even more remote than before. The very future of the idea hangs in the balance.