Self-driving cars will cause sprawl

Waymo self-driving trucks are hauling gear for Google data centers

Raging human drivers slap, body slam innocent self-driving cars

Of those, two involve humans mildly attacking the car in question. According to state law, companies that operate self-driving cars must report any such incidents to the DMV. Since the Golden State began keeping such records, there have been a total of 58 such reports, including the six in 2018.

What’s it like to ride in a self-driving car?

I’ve spent the past few months working on a 10,000-word special report on AVs for The Economist, which was published in this week’s issue. The focus of my report is mostly on the long-term implications of AVs, based on the assumption (a reasonable one, I think) that the technology can be made to work reliably in the next few years. Rather than focusing on the minutiae of things like the ever-changing industry alliances, or who is suing who, I concentrated instead on the impact on urban planning, the transformation of retailing and the broader social and political implications of cars that can drive themselves.