The step before this was probably having a safety driver in the car who isn’t expected to take over immediately, but can do things like move the car to the side of the road after an emergency stop. In that case the person in the driver’s seat spending most of their time reading their phone would safe.
There are now actual driverless cars in Phoenix that you can hail. If they get into an emergency situation they need to resolve it entirely on their own because there isn’t time to bring anyone else in.
The step before this was probably having a safety driver in the car who isn’t expected to take over immediately, but can do things like move the car to the side of the road after an emergency stop. In that case the person in the driver’s seat spending most of their time reading their phone would safe.