Self-driving cars are here, but they are not wide-scale or legal in every country. Is it a good thing having cars that can be switched to auto-drive at the flick of a button, that can calculate and assess the best course of action to take when manoeuvring on the roads in conjunction with the distance between other vehicles, obstructions, buildings, barricades, etc… Or are we paving the way towards something that will make driving on the roads less safe?
We already use the latest technologies to automate various aspects of driving in most modern cars, such as the assistive automated parking where technology takes over and self-parks the car at the tap of a button.
Conclusion: Having self-driving cars on our roads in only really a bad thing if they are fully automated where all the control is taken away from the driver.
So having cars that have the ability to switch from manual-drive to auto-drive at the switch of a button could be a bad thing if used incorrectly with unpredictable road conditions. But if used correctly and in conjunction with manual driving, we can automate the parts of driving that have been known to cause serious accidents on the roads as a result of human error, and subsequently, make driving safer.
For example: adaptive lighting that changes the brightness of the lights on the car according to the conditions of the roads, and the brightness of the lights of approaching cars; this will make driving cars much safer at night and will eliminate the accidents caused by drivers who forget to switch their full beam lights off and dazzle other drivers, forcing them to lose control of their vehicles when they are unable to see the road ahead.
Also Automated driving in bad weather conditions, using satellite navigation systems, and intelligent guidance systems to correctly identify the distance between objects around the vehicle and adjust the accordingly to avoid them or keep the car straight in lanes.
All in all yes, self-driving cars are a good thing if used correctly, but bad if used incorrectly; when used correctly the driving experience will be safer.