Driverless Cars and Trucks: Do we Need to go There?

Technological trends point to a fully viable driverless vehicle sooner rather than later.  Safer, cheaper, and more dependable than their living, breathing counterparts the replacement of drivers with automated systems seems only a matter of time.  Its probably useful - before the technology becomes perfected- to question the cost it brings in terms of lost career opportunities.  Technology progress has enabled the mechanization of farming and manufacturing: productivity gains have been substantial but so has the human cost as measured by lost employment opportunities.  Shouldn't we be addressing the human side of divorcing cars and trucks from drivers?  At some point should we embrace featherbedding, most recently associated with union instance on maintaining employment levels in areas where they were really no longer necessary, in order to avoid the human costs associated with massive technology driven unemployment?  Technological advances will continue to erode employment opportunities and societies need to advance accordingly in the way they treat those who desire to work but lack- through no fault of their own- the opportunities to do so.