Adrian Chiles (Driverless cars are taking us on a road to nowhere, 10 September) wants to know who asked for driverless cars. I did. I have an eye condition called nystagmus and will never be able to drive unless a “tech-bro willy-waver”, or anyone else, finds a cure. Fortunately, not every driver is as reckless as the ones Chiles despairs of, and the most careful of all may not even be human.
Waymo, Google’s sister company, says its cars have far fewer crashes causing injuries than human drivers. In July, the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that its cars had 68% fewer crashes per mile than human drivers.
Anyone wanting to take a swipe at tech-bro culture could pick a better target than a product that can save lives and give people like me independence. Chiles says we can’t be friends if driverless cars are near my top 10 wishlist. Well, I can’t wait to get into one.
Lars Janssen
Haywards Heath, West Sussex
My 18-year-old daughter is severely disabled, will never live independently and is entirely reliant on the support of others. To call the development of driverless cars the “willy-waving” of tech bros perhaps comes from a position of being able-bodied.
Driverless cars open up my daughter’s world without the risks associated with her vulnerability. Augmented-reality glasses transform disabled people’s lives. An iPad has taught my daughter how to hold her hand still to be able to point.
Richard Connell
Richmond, London
Don’t be too quick to condemn driverless cars. They could be the saviour of country pubs. There are so many wonderful boozers around where I live, but you either have to drive to them and have one pint, which is not really worth the visit, or faff about getting an expensive taxi. Driverless cars? Bring ’em on!
Michael Fuller
Ampthill, Bedfordshire
