We’ve all seen the commercials by now: happy, relaxed people letting their cars do most of the driving for them as they sing along to music or share stories with passengers.

But those features might not be of much use everywhere. Here in Ohio, we’re about to find out just how much work is left before we can let our cars take the wheel.

Honda Research Institute is sending two vehicles into Ohio as part of a pilot program to check for faded or missing highway lane markings, so our roads will be safer for vehicles’ driver-assistance cameras and GPS systems, according to a report by Car and Driver magazine.

Road markings will be classified on a scale ranging from green for ideal, to red for “needs repair,” and gray for no lane lines at all. Honda will then pass along that information to the state Department of Transportation.

It is a good project, and one that will give Ohioans important data about the state of our roads.

It also can serve as a reminder that our world is changing quickly, and there will be many more ways in which we must be sure we are keeping up.

Lawmakers and King Bureaucracy will have to take the lead for the next round.