I would love it if self-driving cars were something that the elderly and the disabled had prime access to — the former category being possibly the most unsafe drivers on the road — but it looks like the only people who are going to benefit from it are the wealthy, young tech elites, who have well-enough eyesight, reflexes, and awareness to be competent drivers in the first place.

But I also imagine that the technology they’re developing will be incorporated into non-autonomous vehicles as well: we may not agree with trickle-down economics, but trickle-down technology definitely exists. And I can’t imagine Google passing up the opportunity to sell their tech in more applicable ways than for purely self-driving models.

Also, Google’s self-driving cars have logged over 1.5 million miles on the road with only one reported accident. As someone who lives in the Bay Area and who shares the road with these cars several times a day, they’ve become a normal part of our lives. They’re far more cautious than the average driver, they have 360 degree unobstructed vision, and they aren’t susceptible to tiredness or distractions. I trust these cars far more than I trust other drivers, so I can’t really understand the fear that comes along with them.

For the analogy with planes, the vast majority of landings are manual, as are takeoffs and taxiing, with autopilot only flying for the least dangerous part of the flight. On top of that, “autopilot” isn’t really just that — pilots still have to tell the plane which of several programs it should follow based on the pilot’s judgment.The autopilot will also disengage during turbulence, forcing the pilot to take over to ensure safety. Pilots are still an absolute necessity, whereas self-driving cars are safely, fully automated from point A to B with no input from the driver other than the location. The comparison doesn’t quite ring true, and I’d still trust a self-driving car more than a self-piloting plane.