A nasty, crowded snow covered road with blowing snow coming down at night is a challange.
For anybody. But the automated vehicle will be able to handle it better. With direct “communication” with the traction control and no delay in reactions it can’t help but be better. Add no ego trying to prove a point, and no ability to get fatigued driving in tough conditions and no road hypnosis. Humans have always been the weak link in transportation. Just ask JetBlue.
...not with new GPS accuracies, high definition map data and LIDAR. I’ve seen it done, the vehicle stays in it’s lane better than a human ever could. Throw in some vehicle-to-vehicle communication and viola! ...they don’t hit each other either!
...not to say there’s no challenges ;) I think construction areas that challenge people on the correct action is one of them. Being an “assertive” driver in dense traffic is another (think rush hour and roundabouts), they tend to do nothing...just constant wait-loop.