The robots are here. One safely drove me around the block.

I am a policy nerd – something most of my readers already know by now – and I acknowledge that you can only learn so much from debating theory and poring over data. Real-world experience provides an entirely new perspective.

Despite writing about autonomous vehicle policy for years, I had not ridden in one until recently. I don’t think I should be faulted for this. They just don’t operate here. The closest city where they do is Atlanta where Waymo and Uber have teamed up, but I managed to finally ride in one recently.

While in Orlando, Fla., for a conference, I saw driverless Waymo vehicles driving across town, and I decided this was a golden opportunity to hail one and learn two things: What was it like riding in an autonomous vehicle and could I get my employer to pay for a trip to nowhere in one.

From my hotel, I downloaded the appropriate app, which operates like every other rideshare app, and hailed a car. When it arrived, my initials were emblazoned on a lighted sign atop it, and I unlocked it using my cell phone. I also had the opportunity to connect my own music apps to the radio if I wanted, but I assumed AI is facing enough problems considering the anti-tech backlash; Making it listen to outlaw country music would just be further punishment.

Once inside, a voice explained how things operate – making it exceedingly simple – and then played some chill music. Overall, it drove just about like any other safe driver, although perhaps safer. It never once went a single mile-per-hour over the speed limit and was a stickler for other rules of the road.

I threw it a curveball by changing the destination midway on the journey, and it responded accordingly without problem. Minutes later, it dropped me off back at the hotel without incident. It was an overwhelmingly positive – and pretty cool – experience.

Most of my human-operated rideshare experiences, on the other hand, have also been overwhelmingly positive, and I don’t hesitate to use those services. But anytime the human element is involved, risks exist. We are imperfect beings.

One of my recent human-operated rideshare rides wasn’t particularly stellar for instance. The driver was very inexperienced and nervous. She missed her turn, made an illegal U-turn and nearly collided with another vehicle. Mistakes happen, and I shrugged it off and assured her that I wouldn’t give her a bad rating. I remained true to my word.

On another ride with one of my R Street Institute colleagues, my driver’s car smelled strongly of – erm – a human odor that nobody appreciates. Guess what didn’t reek or nearly careen into another vehicle – my Waymo ride. It also didn’t require awkward small talk. Of course, this is just one anecdote and is too small a sample to make any final determinations about the emerging technology. This is where data is so important.

Since I hailed a Waymo, it seems fair to parse through data about that operator. Waymo cars have traveled over 200 million miles in cities across the country, including over 5 million in Atlanta alone – meaning that policy nerds have a massive data set to examine.

The numbers are incredibly promising, too. Waymo vehicles are involved in 94% fewer accidents resulting in serious injury or death, 82% fewer accidents involving airbag deployment and 93% fewer accidents that leave a pedestrian injured compared to human-driven cars. In short, driverless vehicles are far safer.

They are not perfect by any means and will continue improving, and while they have been involved in accidents, police data suggests they are rarely at fault. The reason for this safety record is clear. Autonomous vehicles don’t drive drunk, drive distracted, drive while tired or text and drive, like humans do. And driverless cars are fitted with an array of sensors, cameras and AI technology that makes them incredibly safe.

This bodes well for future road safety and suggests that other companies will likewise launch autonomous vehicle fleets and they will also play larger roles in trucking – an industry facing a massive shortage of drivers. In doing so, transportation’s future is poised to be much, much safer.

I am not ready to relinquish all my driving responsibilities to AI, but that is just personal preference.  In the end, my experience riding in an autonomous vehicle was incredibly positive and fun, but I have yet to hear whether my employer plans to reimburse me for my ride. Cross your fingers for me.