Driving the future: Are self-driving cars coming to Western Washington?

Many say self-driving cars are going to revolutionize how we get around -- and Q13 News' Matt Lorch traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to go for a ride.

Several companies are testing self-driving vehicles down there right now, taking along anyone who is willing.

Uber, for example, is testing the vehicles with a vehicle operator behind the wheel. After hitting a silver button in the center console, the car is in self-driving mode. Our vehicle operator named Nick places his hands under the wheel, his feet hover over the pedals just in case.

And Gov. Jay Inslee is moving forward with his pledge to bring self-driving cars to Washington. Last summer, Inslee issued an executive order to support autonomous vehicle technology.

Self-driving cars are coming sooner than you may think


We sat down with Daniel Malarkey, a fellow with the Sightline Institute, a think tank in Seattle that has been looking into self-driving cars in Seattle and Western Washington.
 


 



We also asked Malarkey YOUR questions in a Facebook Live earlier this week: