Are Human Drivers Finally Obsolete?

Driverless cars, once a distant dream, are now operating as robotaxis in cities like San Francisco and Phoenix, challenging the persistence of human drivers—a role that outlasted knocker-uppers and lamplighters. This episode traces their development from early visions to today's deployments, highlighting inventors driven by safety goals amid technical hurdles, rivalries, and safety data showing promise over human benchmarks in key areas.

Early Visions and DARPA's Push

The idea of replacing human drivers dates back nearly as far as cars themselves, spurred by fears of mechanical vehicles' dangers after horses' intuitive sentience vanished. Early 1900s resistance included "red flag laws" requiring walkers ahead of cars and proposals to disassemble vehicles near livestock. Safety improved over decades with licenses, seatbelts, and roads, but U.S. traffic deaths remain high—comparable to guns or opioids, affecting about one in 100 people lifetime-wise.