Never say 'Never' - Is JLR right to steer clear of the driverless car?

There’s little doubt at this stage that the driverless car is just around the corner. In fact, in many respects, the driverless car is already here - you just can’t wander into your local dealership and buy one yet. Huge progress has been made with autonomous vehicles in recent years, with Google in particular making big strides in the US. In May, the tech giant revealed figures on collisions that have occurred during the initial stages of its driverless programme, claiming that the handful of minor incidents have been the result of third parties and/or driver error.

According to Google, its autonomous vehicles have not been responsible for a single fender bender. “I guess our biggest learning from the accidents has been that people don’t pay attention, even trained drivers,” said Google co-founder Sergey Brin at the company’s recent shareholder meeting.

What future then, for human beings behind the wheel? Brin - who heads up Google’s driverless project - seems to imply that people simply can’t be trusted to drive to the same level that computers can, and the figures so far seem to support him. Computers don’t get tired, or angry, or distracted by the latest billboard advertising on the drive home from work.