I love driving. Last weekend, I didn't enjoy a single minute of it - maybe with the exception of seeing a classic car on route.

I drove to visit my mother, a route I know in my sleep and quite enjoy due to the winding road and the motorway in between.

Two and a half hours there.

Two and a half hours back.

Normally, I enjoy driving. It's one of the reasons I still like getting into a car.

Yesterday was different.

There was just enough traffic everywhere that nothing flowed.

No traffic jams.

No empty roads.

Just hours of adjusting speed, waiting, not being able to overtaking another vehicle and making almost no progress.

It struck me that this may become one of the biggest drivers of autonomous mobility.

We often talk about robotaxis in cities.

But perhaps the bigger opportunity is something much less spectacular.

Taking over the boring parts.

The motorway stretches where driving becomes repetitive rather than enjoyable.

The congested roads where you spend more time reacting than actually driving.

People often assume autonomous driving is about replacing drivers.

I increasingly think it is about giving us back the parts of driving we actually enjoy.