Living my anxiety dream: taking a ride in a Google self-driving car

Waymo's vehicles may not have the cool quotient of Tesla's Model S, but they manage to navigate a minefield of potential accidents

Of all my recurring anxiety dreams, my least favorite is the one where I'm in a car. It always begins with me driving, but eventually I realize that for some reason I'm sitting in the back seat. My arms can't reach the steering wheel, my legs can't reach the pedals, and I'm stuck in a spiral of terror, careening around turns and accelerating toward obstacles until, gasping, I wake up.

This is a bit like the passenger experience in Waymo's self-driving cars. You climb into the back seat of a minivan, and watch in awe - or horror - as the wheel turns itself above an entirely empty driving seat.