'Drunk robots': How driverless cars could leave humans behind within five years

By Matthew Knott
Updated February 27 2017 - 1:15pm, first published February 26 2017 - 1:27am
Google has experimented with its own self-driving car known as Waymo. Photo: Supplied
Google has experimented with its own self-driving car known as Waymo. Photo: Supplied

Self-driving cars – regarded by many Australians as a form of "science fiction" – will be commercially available within five years and could eventually become so advanced that humans are regarded as "drunk robots" who are banned from driving, a federal parliamentary inquiry has heard.