An interesting question about self-driving cars and society asked by Reid Hoffman:

[…] how soon will it be illegal to operate human-driven cars on public streets?

Given the impressive safety record of autonomous cars so far – no Google self-driving car has been responsible for an accident in over 1 million miles of driving – will human driving being to look increasingly irresponsible?

In fact, human error accounts for more than 90 percent of all motor vehicle accidents. Alcohol plays a role in more than 1 in 3 traffic-related fatalities.

Replacing the most fallible component in the driving experience – the human driver – will lead to significant reductions in the number of accidents and fatalities that automobility produces.

Is “driving is fun” a compelling enough argument to counter the hard facts of the lives lost?

Hoffman makes a fascinating (and long) argument from many angles, in an article that’s well worth your time.