Britannia to Rule the Roads Without a Steering Wheel?

For England, a small island nation that once administered a massive empire (redundant, really, because empires are by nature massive), ambition is in the blood. And that ambition is being steered toward driverless vehicles. Plans for and actual pilot driverless projects are popping up all over. 

Here is what came across my laptop just this morning, plus some old stuff. This is like raking leaves under the forest of trees in my front yard. One does not have to search at all.

• Pods similar to those at Heathrow Airport will soon be on the streets of London. (Google this one; it is literally all over the news.)
• Coventry and Warwickshire to have off-road driverless testing in 2016 and on-road pilot in 2017.
• Bristol is planning a driverless pilot program that is expected to help seniors be more mobile and, therefore, independent. This project was announced almost a year ago and there's been a dearth of details in the press since then. 
• Milton Keynes pods on the streets since September 2015.

Warning: Generic, almost retro video.

Plus, the United Kingdom just pledged a $20 million investment in connected and autonomous vehicle technology. Here's a link to a more detailed article and another article I like about this.

Now, this is corporate welfare, is it not? There's already companies investing untold amounts, in the billions. But I can see where competitiveness in terms of a nation's economy is key. One question: Will the vast majority of the manufacturing jobs be for unpaid robots or actual paid humans? Coventry, at least, is predicting 350 jobs, according to the article linked above.

Dream trip: Visiting England for driverless rides and bread baking classes. OMG.