The driverless future is still a long way off

Much public attention has been paid to self-driving and driverless vehicles, especially after an Uber self-driving vehicle recently killed a pedestrian in Arizona. While both terms have often been used interchangeably, they are different. "Self-driving" means some level of autonomy or automation, but the driver is expected to drive under certain circumstances and road conditions. The vehicle may prompt driver involvement. "Driverless" means that there is no human intervention except to input the destination; the vehicle does the rest. A driverless vehicle would have no steering wheel or pedals. Self-driving vehicles are already in use.