Driverless Cars by General Motors

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Another technology discussion, another transportation discussion. Might be a theme for today, or just the news I've found on the wire. Anyways, GM is researching driverless cars with estimates for public release in about a decade. http://www.wxyz.com/business/story.aspx?content_id=8da5b774-8203-4489-be98-505f218af3bf Now then, this doesn't come as much of a surprise to me (there are already partial automated technologies, even in transportation). The components are there too, like stated in the article (radars, sensors, computer chip interfaces, wireless transmission, voice commands). The first application for these driverless vehicles is to have them with an automated option for highway travel, and returnable control in local or other situations where more human attention is needed. As with the jetpacks, the first generation vehicles might not be as popular and will most likely be expensive. With common technology and market rules, the costs will come down and the products themselves will be better. I do have some doubts about the technology itself. Its bound to have some flaws in the short run (the recent vehicle testing competition highlighted this), and hopefully these flaws are caught on the drawing board and testing phases so people do not have to experience them first hand. Still, the R&D stage isn't a 100% guarantee these cars will be flawless. Something could come up (control malfunction, radar malfunction, object detection errors, etc) What do you think of all this? Think it'd be a real change having driverless vehicles like some of the sources claim? Would you personally use or feel alright using a driverless car? And what about your children? They'll likely be of driving age when these machines are out. Would you feel comfortable with your children or loved ones using this technology? Personally, I'm intrigued by the technology and I may indeed give it a try when its available. Hopefully most of the bugs will be out of the programming by then...