The 3 biggest ways self-driving cars will improve our lives

Volvo

Driverless cars will be here before you know it.

Several automakers have already showed off their self-driving car technology and many car companies aim to roll out production vehicles with driverless capabilities by 2020. Industry experts expect fully autonomous vehicles to follow suit just a few years later.

This era of driverless cars will transform our lives in more ways than one, Erik Coelingh, Volvo's Senior Technical Leader for Safety and Driver Support Technologies, told Tech Insider.

While it's still too early to know all of the ways autonomous vehicles will impact our lives, Coelingh, who is helping lead Volvo's driverless car program, said he does foresee self-driving cars bringing more advantages than disadvantages.

Here are three key ways Coelingh said autonomous vehicles will improve our lives.