The Last Word with Matt Cooper What Is The Future For Driverless Cars In Ireland?
Jan 7, 2026
Geraldine Herbert, motoring editor and automotive trend expert, Brian Caulfield, transportation professor specializing in urban mobility, and Russell Vickers, CEO focused on autonomous vehicle deployment, dive into the future of driverless cars in Ireland. They discuss Nvidia's latest tech platform and the challenges of weather and signage for autonomy. The conversation highlights the likely dominance of robo-taxis over car ownership, the need for geofencing in rural areas, and the ongoing significance of public transit in an autonomous future.
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Edge Cases Remain The Core Challenge
- Edge cases and rare scenarios remain the biggest stumbling block for self-driving cars today.
- Geraldine Herbert says human-like reasoning for those cases is key to wider deployment.
Real-World Trials Show Promise
- Waymo completed around 10 million fully driverless journeys, showing robo-taxi viability in the US.
- Nissan trialled a Leaf for 16,000 miles across urban and rural roads as another proof point.
Ireland's Roads Demand Different Approaches
- Europe and Ireland present different challenges due to road types, weather and cyclists sharing space.
- Russell Vickers warns rollout will focus on motorways and cities before tackling rural roads.