My Son Took a Ride in an Uber With No Driver in Austin Texas

If you've been in the Austin, Texas area recently, you might have noticed some cars rolling around the State Capitol with no drivers. You're not going crazy, it's just a ride-share service where the car drives itself, no big deal.

Uber Partners With Waymo In Texas

Ride-share king, Uber, has partnered with autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo to bring self-driving rides to only two places: Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas. These cars come equipped with high-tech sensors, cameras, and software that allow them to navigate city streets without a human driver actively controlling them.

MORE: Dumbest Things Texas Drivers Do That Get On Our Nerves

Creepy Self-Driving In Austin

My son recently moved to Austin, Texas, a city that some call 'The Hipster Capitol of the World", or "Mini-California". I'm not completely sure why Austin has that stigma to it. Nevertheless, my son lives there and recently took a ride in one of these new rides. I have to admit, it is a little creepy, but check it out for yourself.

I gotta say, it would creep me out just a bit to have a driverless car pick you up. It's just crazy how advanced technology has become. Long gone are the days when your uncle drove with their knee to make it look like it was a self-driving car.

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Will Abilene Ever Get Self-Driving Cars?

Here in Abilene, the idea of getting picked up by a car with no driver might feel straight out of a sci-fi movie. But if we’re being real,  we may not see self-driving Ubers hit our streets anytime soon because of several reasons.

• Infrastructure: Autonomous vehicles rely on well-mapped roads, consistent traffic patterns, and a solid infrastructure. Austin has been investing in smart city tech for years. Abilene, while growing fast, isn’t quite there yet. I mean, have you seen the potholes here?
• Population Density: Self-driving services tend to launch in urban areas where demand is high and routes are dense. The fact that you can get anywhere in Abilene in 5 minutes is not a good selling point.
• Testing Requirements: Before autonomous vehicles can operate in new areas, they need extensive on-road testing to learn the environment. So far, no such testing has been announced in Abilene that we know of.
• Pot Holes & Bad Streets: As I mentioned above, Abilene is the “Pothole Capitol of the World.” Not only that, but our streets are in serious need of improvements before we just let some self-driving cars go nuts.

Quite honestly, I feel like we already have self-driving cars. Have you seen the way people drive in Abilene, Texas?