Motorcycling Illegal?

In the very near future, a fully autonomous (drives itself) car will be available for purchase from multiple companies. Recently, I listened to a lecture claiming that it could be possible that when these cars become the norm, it would be illegal to operate your own vehicle. I can see this greatly reducing the amount of injuries and deaths from auto accidents, but my question is what will happen to motorcycles?

Let's face it; our sport is not an inherently safe one. Hell, that's part of the appeal. However, I have a feeling that if we are not careful, we may not be able to ride in twenty years. I cannot imagine an autonomous motorcycle. It would kind of defeat the purpose in my opinion. A motorcycle ride would become more like a carnival ride with the element of fear removed.

I in no way want to damn the autonomous car technology. I am all for advances in science and engineering and I am excited for what we will see in the future. How some of this technology will affect the motorcycle industry is what I tend to think of. Hopefully, we'll still be riding legally for generations to come. However, if motorcycling does become illegal, I have a feeling there will many of us that will become outlaws so we can continue to ride.

"An outlaw can be defined as someone who lives outside the law, beyond the law and not necessarily against it." - Hunter S. Thompson