Is driverless car a misleading term?

You mean robotic cars? Self-driving cars? Cars with autopilot? Death on wheels?

Autopilot.

Yeah a programed computer.
You tell the computer what and where, it tells the car how and what to do to get there.

Have you seen the detail part of the question? There has been accidents. One something to do with a white truck, and another one someone was run over and killed?

DOW (Death On Wheels).

edit As already said above (didn’t notice. Sorry)

The term “driverless car” is not misleading at all. Your details are misleading. And as for your concern about accidents, that should be a concern anyway, any time you get into a car.

Have you ever ridden in a cab? Called for Uber? Ridden on a bus? A train? A plane? I would bet that in every single one of those cases you didn’t vet the driver before getting in. Trusting a “driverless” car, once the bugs have been worked out (which they mostly have). Makes more sense in many cases. The computer doesn’t get distracted or sneeze or drink or text or have to prove to another car that it has a bigger dick.

@Sneki95 no need for “sorry” because @Zaku‘s post is edited to add.

It is so misleading, There has to be a driver in the drivers seat, with hands on the wheel, the dirver monitoring it. Therefore it’s so called driverless car.

The suffix -less means “without whatever the stem means”. So driverless car is a car without a driver.
What is misleading about it?

… Not wheel because there is no wheel it looks like. I guess it’s panel or something like that instead.

…But some have wheels

http://tinyurl.com/j8kmkjv (Driverless cars hands on wheel)

There’s nothing at all confusing or uncertain in the characterization of a vehicle designated driverless. Everybody knows what a “driver” is, and no one has any trouble distinguishing whether or not a vehicle is “missing” one.

Driverless cars are still in development. No cars that have ‘autopilot’ features that are available to the general public right now are meant to be truly driverless. They require a human in the driver’s seat in case of emergency. But soon the algorithms will be mastered such that cars will be truly driverless.

It’s possible to drive a car without driver? Driver less car like a boat without a boatman.

@Renzycrock Yes, it is possible, and as @Mariah pointed out, will be commonplace in the near future. A better term might be self-driving car.

Conceptual designs even have a car with two bench seats facing each other, rather than both facing forward.

Western Australia is introducing driverless buses. They will have a chaperone in case anything goes wrong, and their speed is limited and they’ll run on a specific circuit. There is no driver’s seat.

I can’t think of how else you would describe them @Flo. They don’t have a driver.

Once driverless cars become the norm, the term driverless will not make sense. We will need a term for the old fashioned cars we are now using which require a driver.

The New York Times used both “autonomous cars” and “self-driving” cars today in articles in its Technology section.

@LostInParadise When self driving cars are common, older cars may get called “analog.”

Yes I imagine “driverless car” will one day go the way of “horseless carriage.”

Hey, @flo, I even googled “driverless car” for you. Look at the pictures, read the articles. The Wikipedia article uses “driverless car” as an alternate term for “autonomous” car.
Not misleading, unless, of course, your basic understanding of common-use English is deficient (for example, if it is not your first language.)

https://www.google.com/search?q=driverless+car&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

I also posted this OP
http://www.fluther.com/195332/are-driverless-cars-like-drones-as-in-no-one-in-the/

@Earthbound_Misfit to answer your question to me: ”...how else you would describe them @Flo. They don’t have a driver.” But they do have drivers in them they are just not doing the driving, No one can say right now No need for drivers.

The goal is for them not to need a driver in any capacity. We just haven’t quite reached that goal yet, which is why people still need to stay alert while using a car that has an autopilot feature.

Here’s something on the topic. http://www.autoinsurancecenter.com/top-20-pros-and-cons-associated-with-self-driving-cars.htm

@flo, did you look at the link I posted? The bus doesn’t even have a driver’s seat. It does have a chaperone sitting on the bus who can press an emergency stop button, but that doesn’t qualify as ‘driving’ or taking over the driving.

“Known as the RAC Intellibus, it is driverless, without a driver’s seat, but there will be a “chaperone” aboard “in the unlikely event that an incident happens and the bus control has to be overridden”, said Anne Still of the RACWA.

“Both the chaperone and passengers will have access to two stop buttons. It will stop immediately,” Ms Still said.”.

I imagine this is the future for public transport where there is a regular route.

@Earthbound_Misfit It sounds great.

…I just mean is the position (truck driver let’s say) eliminated because of the driverless truck?