Trains, planes and automobiles.

For years, you’ve heard about the idea of driverless cars and how they’re supposed to change transportation. But you still feel like that future is way off in the distance.

Well, I have news for you: we’re already there. The US isn’t the leader in this area, but there are millions of people around the world who use driverless travel every day. In order to understand what the future looks like, let’s take a look at this technology today and see if it might work for you.

But first things first: are driverless cars really coming? And if so, when? Actually, they are here now—but not everywhere.

Have a seat.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about driverless cars,” says Kate Pinkham, a media relations specialist for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “You can’t drive over 80 miles per hour; you have to obey the speed limits. The technology is pretty much ready for production. They’re coming out with them one by one.”

Pinkham is right that there are plenty of misconceptions about driverless cars — and she’s also wrong that they will be available on the market within two years. In fact, when it comes to the real world, driverless cars are already in use across three states and are being tested in up to 10 others, according to ABC News.

Attention passengers.

• You’re at the station buying your ticket when you notice that the train is moving.
• It’s moving fast.
• Very fast.
• It’s moving at speed.
• At high speed.
• 200 kilometers per hour to be precise!

Believe it or not.

• You might be thinking that driverless cars are some futuristic thing, but they’ve been around since 1980. The world’s first self-driving car was built at Stanford University in the US.
• Most of the world’s driverless cars are in China, where over 20 companies have been testing them for years.
• Other countries like Singapore, Sweden and Norway have also spent billions developing autonomous vehicles.
• Many of you probably already use self-driving cars without even knowing it, especially if you ride public transportation that uses driverless trains or buses.

The future is now, but not in the US.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that self-driving cars are still in the realms of science fiction, but they’re not. While they’re yet to arrive in the US, millions of people around the world already use them as a central part of their daily lives.

As a result, major car brands are now investing billions into bringing this technology to our roads. But what does this mean for the future of car ownership? And are we ready for driverless cars on our roads?

The first autonomous vehicles were introduced to China in 2013 and by 2015 over 10 million people were using them on a monthly basis. That’s just in China—in Europe, 12% of new cars coming off production lines are fully autonomous, while in India 4% have partial autonomy.

While it may seem like this is all taking place somewhere far away from us here at home, you have to remember that these numbers reflect millions and millions of people who will soon be adjusting their needs to better suit a driverless world.

Will you buy a driverless car?

First, let’s talk about price. A driverless car is likely to be more expensive than a human-driven car for a couple of reasons. The basic technology will be expensive to build, but the biggest expense for you will probably be the cost of keeping your car on the road: Insurance and liability rates are expected to go up, as driverless cars (or at least the insurance companies) become responsible for accidents they cause.

But there are good reasons why you’d pay more, too. Perhaps most importantly, a driverless car will be safer than a human-driven one: Driver error currently accounts for 90 percent of all traffic accidents in the U.S., so being able to eliminate that risk would make driving much safer overall. With fewer accidents comes less maintenance—fewer dents and scratches means less money spent on repairs. And you won’t need to pay for gas because your autonomous machine will know exactly how fast it can drive and how hard it needs to accelerate or brake without wasting fuel in the process; imagine that extra cash!

But wait, there’s more!

• There’s more where that came from. Automated vehicles may replace mass transit by creating a new virtual public transportation system, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The ride-hailing part of the market is forecast to reach $285 billion globally by 2030 and as many as 1 billion people could be using ride-sharing services by 2040, according to an analysis by Pittsburgh-based BDO Consulting.
• A shift to autonomous vehicles will likely mean vehicle electrification on a massive scale, particularly if they run on batteries or fuel cells. That would create demand for enough lithium to power 350 million cars and trucks–a sevenfold increase in global lithium supply–according to researchers at McKinsey & Company’s Electric Power & Natural Gas practice.

So what are the advantages?

As a city dweller, my personal favorite advantage is the promise of reduced traffic and commuting times. Imagine being able to read, eat breakfast, or even sleep in your car on the way to work. Driverless vehicles hold the potential to streamline traffic flow by automating the complex processes of merging, accelerating and braking. The result? Fewer stop-and-go situations that waste everyone’s time and fuel.

So what are the disadvantages?

We all love the convenience of our smartphones and the Uber-like efficiency of self-driving cars. Getting from point A to B is a simple command, and with a tap or swipe something magical happens. The car takes us there, we get into it and it drives us effortlessly across town. It’s going to change human society for the better.

But what about all those who aren’t so lucky? What about those who are old, disabled or simply prefer moving around on their own two feet? It’s not just older people who earn less money than the young who will be forced out of work by these changes, but also many women workers in low-paying jobs that require physical strength as well as women whose jobs are based on manual dexterity (like bakers) and hobbies (like making pottery). What about people with mental health issues like depression or learning disabilities? These people tend to rely heavily on others for support and care when they need it most, but they will have little choice but to stop hanging out with friends if they have to drive themselves everywhere.

Here we go again!

There are two things you can count on in life: death and the inevitable return of self-driving cars. We’ve been here before, back in the 1930s. The dream-come-true of autonomous travel has a long history that spans almost a century now. Technology has come a long way since then, but people haven’t changed very much.

People have been worried about handing over control to robots for a long time now – and, frankly, they should be concerned if they have no control over what happens to them! However, just as we accept truck drivers and pilots as useful humans on the roads, so too will we adapt to computerized vehicles being part of our daily lives. They’re certainly safer than human vehicles at this point! That may not mean much to those who don’t want to commute in silence with their robot chauffeurs along for the ride… but there are many other ways that driverless cars will affect us all.

Self-driving cars may become a normal thing in the future.

Some people think self-driving cars will be a normal thing in the future. They might be onto something. Check out these reasons why:

• Self-driving cars are safer than human-driven cars.
• You don’t have to worry about getting a speeding ticket.
• Self-driving cars help protect the environment.

Trains, planes and automobiles.

For years, you’ve heard about the idea of driverless cars and how they’re supposed to change transportation. But you still feel like that future is way off in the distance.

Well, I have news for you: we’re already there. The US isn’t the leader in this area, but there are millions of people around the world who use driverless travel every day. In order to understand what the future looks like, let’s take a look at this technology today and see if it might work for you.

But first things first: are driverless cars really coming? And if so, when? Actually, they are here now—but not everywhere.

Have a seat.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about driverless cars,” says Kate Pinkham, a media relations specialist for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “You can’t drive over 80 miles per hour; you have to obey the speed limits. The technology is pretty much ready for production. They’re coming out with them one by one.”

Pinkham is right that there are plenty of misconceptions about driverless cars — and she’s also wrong that they will be available on the market within two years. In fact, when it comes to the real world, driverless cars are already in use across three states and are being tested in up to 10 others, according to ABC News.

Attention passengers.

You’re at the station buying your ticket when you notice that the train is moving.

It’s moving fast.

Very fast.

It’s moving at speed.

At high speed.

200 kilometers per hour to be precise!

Believe it or not.

You might be thinking that driverless cars are some futuristic thing, but they’ve been around since 1980. The world’s first self-driving car was built at Stanford University in the US.

Most of the world’s driverless cars are in China, where over 20 companies have been testing them for years.

Other countries like Singapore, Sweden and Norway have also spent billions developing autonomous vehicles.

Many of you probably already use self-driving cars without even knowing it, especially if you ride public transportation that uses driverless trains or buses.

The future is now, but not in the US.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that self-driving cars are still in the realms of science fiction, but they’re not. While they’re yet to arrive in the US, millions of people around the world already use them as a central part of their daily lives.

As a result, major car brands are now investing billions into bringing this technology to our roads. But what does this mean for the future of car ownership? And are we ready for driverless cars on our roads?

The first autonomous vehicles were introduced to China in 2013 and by 2015 over 10 million people were using them on a monthly basis. That’s just in China—in Europe, 12% of new cars coming off production lines are fully autonomous, while in India 4% have partial autonomy.

While it may seem like this is all taking place somewhere far away from us here at home, you have to remember that these numbers reflect millions and millions of people who will soon be adjusting their needs to better suit a driverless world.

Will you buy a driverless car?

First, let’s talk about price. A driverless car is likely to be more expensive than a human-driven car for a couple of reasons. The basic technology will be expensive to build, but the biggest expense for you will probably be the cost of keeping your car on the road: Insurance and liability rates are expected to go up, as driverless cars (or at least the insurance companies) become responsible for accidents they cause.

But there are good reasons why you’d pay more, too. Perhaps most importantly, a driverless car will be safer than a human-driven one: Driver error currently accounts for 90 percent of all traffic accidents in the U.S., so being able to eliminate that risk would make driving much safer overall. With fewer accidents comes less maintenance—fewer dents and scratches means less money spent on repairs. And you won’t need to pay for gas because your autonomous machine will know exactly how fast it can drive and how hard it needs to accelerate or brake without wasting fuel in the process; imagine that extra cash!

But wait, there’s more!

There’s more where that came from. Automated vehicles may replace mass transit by creating a new virtual public transportation system, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The ride-hailing part of the market is forecast to reach $285 billion globally by 2030 and as many as 1 billion people could be using ride-sharing services by 2040, according to an analysis by Pittsburgh-based BDO Consulting.

A shift to autonomous vehicles will likely mean vehicle electrification on a massive scale, particularly if they run on batteries or fuel cells. That would create demand for enough lithium to power 350 million cars and trucks–a sevenfold increase in global lithium supply–according to researchers at McKinsey & Company’s Electric Power & Natural Gas practice.

So what are the advantages?

As a city dweller, my personal favorite advantage is the promise of reduced traffic and commuting times. Imagine being able to read, eat breakfast, or even sleep in your car on the way to work. Driverless vehicles hold the potential to streamline traffic flow by automating the complex processes of merging, accelerating and braking. The result? Fewer stop-and-go situations that waste everyone’s time and fuel.

So what are the disadvantages?

We all love the convenience of our smartphones and the Uber-like efficiency of self-driving cars. Getting from point A to B is a simple command, and with a tap or swipe something magical happens. The car takes us there, we get into it and it drives us effortlessly across town. It’s going to change human society for the better.

But what about all those who aren’t so lucky? What about those who are old, disabled or simply prefer moving around on their own two feet? It’s not just older people who earn less money than the young who will be forced out of work by these changes, but also many women workers in low-paying jobs that require physical strength as well as women whose jobs are based on manual dexterity (like bakers) and hobbies (like making pottery). What about people with mental health issues like depression or learning disabilities? These people tend to rely heavily on others for support and care when they need it most, but they will have little choice but to stop hanging out with friends if they have to drive themselves everywhere.

Here we go again!

There are two things you can count on in life: death and the inevitable return of self-driving cars. We’ve been here before, back in the 1930s. The dream-come-true of autonomous travel has a long history that spans almost a century now. Technology has come a long way since then, but people haven’t changed very much.

People have been worried about handing over control to robots for a long time now – and, frankly, they should be concerned if they have no control over what happens to them! However, just as we accept truck drivers and pilots as useful humans on the roads, so too will we adapt to computerized vehicles being part of our daily lives. They’re certainly safer than human vehicles at this point! That may not mean much to those who don’t want to commute in silence with their robot chauffeurs along for the ride… but there are many other ways that driverless cars will affect us all.

Self-driving cars may become a normal thing in the future.

Some people think self-driving cars will be a normal thing in the future. They might be onto something. Check out these reasons why:

Self-driving cars are safer than human-driven cars.

You don’t have to worry about getting a speeding ticket.

Self-driving cars help protect the environment.