The man pushing to get humans out of the driver’s seat says computers will be better behind the wheel.

Larry Burns, lead advisor on Google’s self-driving car project, says safer roads and better uses for city parking spaces could be just the beginning.

Burns plugged the driverless technology in his visit to Adelaide last week, where he said automated transport is showing great promise.

He said safety would be a big selling point for driverless cars, if people can get over the fear of a machine in control.

“Basically the car makes two simple decisions simultaneously; ‘how fast should I go and which way should I steer?’” he said in a radio interview.

“Once you get the driver out of the loop the vehicle becomes much, much safer. Traffic safety experts say about 90 per cent of crashes are due to human error.

“If cars don't crash we can now tailor their design to the typical trip we take, which is one and two person. That allows us to have a much smaller vehicle, which is much more energy-efficient, space efficient.

“Most of the true leaders in this field say by 2017-2018 the car will be able to drive itself, anywhere, any time without any human input.

“If we have that proven then the real challenge will be regulations and liability and ultimately consumers getting used to the new system.

“The way to get past those hurdles really is just to get out and start trying it on a small scale and learn and show people it's possible,” he said.

Mr Burns said parking would become a thing of the past too, with many vehicles operating on a shared basis where they would drop one person at their destination before whizzing off to drive another.

Some developers envision a system in which driverless trucks and cars are hitched together into road trains.

Burns said he doubts private car use will become totally obsolete, but rather it will be part of a mix of vehicle and driver types on future roads.

South Australian motoring organisation, the RAA, says Australia should be at the forefront of automated transport development and manufacture, especially with car-making on its way out of the country in coming years.

Mr Burns spoke with manufacturing executives in Adelaide about possible future directions.