There are plans to update South Australia's road laws to allow for a future when driverless cars may become a reality.

Former General Motors executive and adviser to Google's driverless car project Larry Burns visited Adelaide last year to speak with government and business interests about the project's progress.

In a speech delivered in the South Australian Parliament today to mark the formal opening of the new session, the Government outlined a plan to reform two pieces of road legislation.

"Our Motor Vehicles Act was written when the FB model Holden was being released to the market in 1959 and our Road Traffic Act [was written] two years later," Governor Hieu Van Le told the Parliament as he read the Government's legislative agenda.

"[The] Government will reform both pieces of legislation and also legislate for driverless vehicles, which will revolutionise transportation in South Australia."

In 2014 when Mr Burns was in Adelaide, he said driverless car technology was showing great promise.

"Most of the true leaders in this field say by 2017-2018 the car will be able to drive itself, anywhere, any time without any human input," he said.

"If we have that proven then the real challenge will be regulations and liability and ultimately consumers getting used to the new system."

SA Premier Jay Weatherill said the state needed to embrace new industries and technologies and legislation needed to reflect that direction.

He also said the Government was keen to make hybrid-engine and electric vehicles the preferred option on CBD streets within a decade.

The Government's other pledge was to make Adelaide a carbon-neutral city.

Mr Weatherill promised more improvements to cycling and pedestrian infrastructure around the city.

Proponents of the global driverless car project claim 90 per cent of current road crashes are due to errors by drivers and promise their revolutionary vehicles will be safer.