Learning to drive is a rite of passage for young people everywhere and most of us would not care to sit the dreaded driving test again.
While learning to drive has traditionally been recognised as a milestone in becoming an independent adult, kids of the future may not need to learn AT ALL!
According to AXA UK chief executive Amanda Blanc, self-driving cars could be the norm within 15 years and will negate the need to learn to drive.
"Babies born today may never have to take a driving test,” she told The Telegraph.
Ms Blanc added that the insurance industry needs to prepare for the reality of cars being controlled by a computer rather than a human.
"Driverless cars will not be able to take to the roads (without that),” she said, adding that insurers have a significant role to play in understanding the risks involved.
She believes self-driving cars could minimise the number of accidents on the road and make it easier for those with mobility issues to get around.
A car in auto-pilot is expected to make roads "much safer and increase mobility for vulnerable members of society," she noted.
Not only will kids of the future potentially save money on driving lessons but insurance premiums are likely to decrease also. (We really were born at the wrong time…)
Ms Blanc’s timeframe estimate of self-driving cars arriving by 2032 is slightly ahead of that of US technology company Intel’s prediction.
Intel recently announced that driverless cars will be a normal part of our lives by 2050. They have predicted that vehicles will be introduced from 2035 onwards.
The tech giant believes that self-driving vehicles will free up time spent commuting daily and commuters will use their cars in a completely different way.
It’s expected that driverless technology could allow passengers to use their time watching movies, playing games or shopping while on their way to or from work.
They have dubbed this the “Passenger Economy” and it's expected to become a thriving industry as drivers make the switch to becoming passengers.
“Autonomous technology will drive change across a range of industries and define a new landscape," said Strategy Analytics president Harvey Cohen, co-author of Intel's Passenger Economy report.
However, there are some safety issues surrounding the use of driverless cars. Uber recently removed driverless cars from its fleet after one was involved in an accident.
We'll be sticking to old-fashioned cars for now...
