Originally Posted by
propilot
We already have driverless cars to take you across the country. They are called buses and trains. Most people, unless on a vacation or retired, don’t have the time to spend 1-3 days traveling in each direction.
"buses and trains" neither go on your own schedule nor will be available to you for commuting around your destination. If you own a driverless car, you have the car to drive you there overnight while you sleep on it. In my case, I live in a city with very few direct routes to anywhere, which means that I have to do connecting flights to just about everywhere, and if I am going to the boondocks, then it is 2 connecting flights, so:
1 hour driving to the airport, 1.5 hours wait to depart, 2 hours flying somewhere I don't care, 1 hour waiting for a connection, another 2 hours flying somewhere else, another hour connecting, another hour to my final destination, half an hour to get out of the airport to a rental car...
That's assuming that flights weren't cancelled, or baggage lost, etc.
That's a best case scenario of 9 hours traveling!
I can drive 1300 miles in 19 hours (I've done it multiple times), that's 650 in 9.5.
Add a couple of hours more and I am a thousand miles away (give or take) and in my own car. In my own schedule. And if I can do it sleeping...