Volvo has announced its self-driving Drive Me cars are able to manage a number of different driving conditions and situations, including lane following and more. Should we be afraid?

Volvo Car Group’s project ‘Drive Me’ – featuring 100 self-driving Volvos on public roads in everyday driving conditions – is moving forward rapidly, the company says. The first test cars are already driving around the Swedish city of Gothenburg and the Autopilot technology is performing well.

“The test cars are now able to handle lane following, speed adaption and merging traffic all by themselves,” said Erik Coelingh, Technical Specialist at Volvo Car Group in a media statement.

“This is an important step towards our aim that the final ‘Drive Me’ cars will be able to drive the whole test route in highly autonomous mode. The technology, which will be called Autopilot, enables the driver to hand over the driving to the vehicle, which takes care of all driving functions.”

What makes the ‘Drive Me’ project unique is that it involves all the key players: legislators, transport authorities, a major city, a vehicle manufacturer and real customers. Volvo said that all of the ‘customers’ will drive the 100 cars in everyday driving conditions (on approximately 50 kilometres of selected roads in and around Gothenburg).

“This public pilot will provide us with a valuable insight into the societal benefits of making autonomous vehicles a natural part of the traffic environment,” says Erik Coelingh.

“Our smart vehicles are a key part of the solution, but a broad societal approach is vital to offer sustainable personal mobility in the future. This unique cross-functional co-operation is the key to a successful implementation of self-driving vehicles.”

Practical Motoring asks: What do you think of self-driving cars? Are they the future of transport or a waste of time?