Please help me understand something about self-driving cars

[LeftishBrit]

38. They could be of vital importance for people with disabilities that prevent them from driving

I have always dreamt of a self-driving car (before these were real possibilities) because, though I am not seriously disabled or blind, I do have visual processsing disabilities that make me unable to drive. This has significantly restricted where I have been able to live and work. At least in the UK, though restrictive, it's *possible* to find places to live where driving is unnecessary; in most parts of the USA, it is much more difficult - one reason why I never seriously considered working there.

Self-driving cars could give a lot more independence to people with a variety of disabilities, and to elderly people.

Of course, as they do become a possibility, the disadvantages become more obvious. Alternatives, of course, would be some sort of scheme for disabled and elderly people to get subsidized taxi services; and for public transport to become more available and affordable (in the UK, pensioners do get bus passes) and more frequent so that it is less crowded - the same people, who cannot drive, often also cannot stand in moving vehicles for any length of time. But that's not likely to happen in these days of cuts. Our county council is currently threatening to cut free transport for seriously disabled teenagers going to college for further education and training.