Originally appeared on Automoblog.net

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Autonomous driving technology has exploded onto the scene at startling speed. In just a handful of years, we?ve moved from some basic electronic control systems like blind spot warning and lane keep assist, to Tesla?s autopilot.
It’s capable of fully controlling the car for brief periods of time. Albeit with sometimes uncertain results, as a well-publicized recent crash shows.
Advancing Automation
The next step in this technological revolution is something the Society of Automotive Engineers calls Level 4 (or ?L4?) automation. This is where the car is fully autonomous and may not have controls for human passengers. When we will see fully autonomous cars on the road in private hands is uncertain. Google has been testing an L4 car for some time. Ford Motor Company plans to release its autonomous cars only for ride sharing fleets initially. Self-driving cars are not even street legal in most states. However, that hasn’t stopped some U.S. states from granting autonomous testing privileges. The brightest-eyed optimists insist fully autonomous cars for the public are just around the corner. Other industry experts argue we are still a decade or more away.
Whether fully autonomous cars arrive next year or in another generation, I continue to have deep misgivings about the technology and its impact on society. Besides simply ruing the day I can no longer pilot my own car, I s...