Yes, you're right. People have made all sorts or incorrect predictions about the future before and have later been proven wrong.
Most of the things you've listed above were doubted because people didn't believe they were technically possible or lacked understanding of physics. I don't doubt for a second it's possible for a computer to drive a car much safer and more efficiently than a human. The reason why I'm so cynical about driverless cars is because there are other areas where automation is much simpler, trains for example, yet it hasn't happened for various reasons, which seem irrational. Insurance and litigation are the two things which stand out at the moment. What happens when your driverless car is involved in a fatal accident which is its fault? Who goes to prison? Tesla have only gotten away with it because they say the human driver should pay attention.
Of course it might happen, but I'm doubtful it'll be in my lifetime. I wish I was wrong, because I don't like driving and think automation would make the road a safer place. The same way, I really wish they would fully automate the rail network because it would make trains much more reliable and cheaper..
Good point. But something like the railways, can get relatively slow/long time scales. Unlike general public cars, which might be changed every 3 years. The trains may only change in a big way, every 20 to 50 years (I don't know, what the time period is, exactly).
Because they spend millions, buying the new train stock. Then keep using it for 10, 20, 30, 40 or more years. until it is replaced.
I imagine, self driving cars, may start out in one small part of America. Maybe with the driver having to sit in the drivers seat and watch the precedings. If that works out. It could get rolled out in other parts of America, and other countries could start following suit.
If not the US, then another country(s).
As you said, Tesla, have already been rolling out
autonomous self driving cars, sorry, I mean Tesla autopilot.
As regards making the roads safer. Although computers won't drink and drive, take drugs or speed just for the fun of it. I still think that they will still have accidents. Just that those accidents will be different.
E.g. The Tesla autopilots, have had various accidents. Because of misinterpreting things, etc.
Another example is 'self driving'/autopilot jet airplanes. Which has been going on for a long time now. Where some percentage, maybe 99% of the time. the autopilot, effectively flies the plane.
Because as you will know. We still have plenty of aircraft crashing, despite these systems.
E.g. Boeing 737max, whose autopilot mode (although there is more to it, as it was not really the autopilots fault, the MCAS system and its sensors), was not exactly safe to leave it like that, unoccupied.