I would imagine that it would do exactly the same as a car with a driver - apply the brakes. The only difference is that the driverless car's reaction time would be quicker than one with a driver.

Road Tax, Fuel, MOT's relate to the vehicle, not the driver.

maybe you can rent a car short term via an app, so you can book the use of a car that will come to you and you can use as required, still a very long way off but it’s the future..

What makes you say that, Bruce? How do you know?
I find it quite scary.

maybe you can rent a car short term via an app, so you can book the use of a car that will come to you and you can use as required, still a very long way off but it’s the future..

UBER don't seem to think so.

Can't see why people struggle with the concept of a driverless car. I mean when they get on a train what are they doing? Sitting in a vehicle that they are not driving!

Same for a bus
Same for a tram
Same for a taxi

What difference does it make then if it is a car that you own which is driven by a centralised national highways "system" rather than a person?

The benefits could be huge as others have highlighted.

Disabled people, blind people, otherwise disadvantaged people who can not legally drive, can suddenly have the same freedom as everyone else instead of having to rely on and be a burden on others. They can go to the shops whenever THEY want to without putting anyone else out.

Those who like to drink and/or who have records of drink driving and maybe have lost their licenses, as Bruce rightly points out, can own their own vehicle and have it take them and pick them up again at the end of the night.

More importantly, a centrally controlled national driverless vehicle network would be able to better manage all the traffic in the country. It could regulate speeds and route vehicles in the best possible and most efficient way. At present we all just choose the routes we know and think are best but when we are driving we have no idea what is happening all around us and further along our journey. As traffic develops ahead the system could seamlessly re-route us to avoid it or re-route us to alleviate congestion elsewhere.
If the algorithms are constructed well it could have massive positive impact on national congestion.

Another benefit would be for emergencies. The system, knowing that say an ambulance or fire engine 5 miles away was on a route that needs to get past you, could simply route all vehicles into specific lanes leaving a lane totally free for emergency services. The response time improvements for emergency vehicles would be massive.

Then think about the impact to our personal insurance situation. Currently we all pay an arm and a leg for insurance each year and much depends on our past record and personal attributes. With a driverless system that goes away. Insurance becomes a constant with no dependency on a driver. It is the actual national highway system that would need the insurance not us as individuals. We would of course have to pay into that (they will always get their pound of flesh) but it would be massively cheaper and it would be constant. We wouldn't ever get penalised unless we specifically did something reckless to affect the driverless system.

There are a lot of wins to the concept but it will take many many years to get there.

Realist, you do surprise, I always though you were "anti" anything that involved centralization.

What about motorbikes? Will they also follow on as 'driverless' or perhaps riderless?