Re: long tail
"On my drive this morning (in the dark). etc etc"
Which is why step 1 is to get cars behave autonomously on motorways. There's still hazards, detours etc but (should be) no pedestrians / cyclists and very limited junctions. It would already be a huge win if I could drive my car to the motorway myself and then switch on self-driving. Have it linked to GPS with planned destination so it alerts driver before the exit and makes sure they are awake and ready to take control as soon as the exit is taken. And add a fuel sensor combined with GPS data of petrol stations along the way to stop when refuelling is necessary.
Off-motorway the conditions are much more complex and infinitely variable, but at least we can automate the simple parts that also tend to be the longest / most monotonous / boring.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
