I understand that facing backwards is safer in a head-on collision but a lot of people suffer from motion sickness (myself included).
It has a lot to do with ability to see where you are going and hence predict/be aware of the vehicles movements. To put the extent of this in perspective, I am noticibly more likely to feel motion sick sitting in the back seat compared to sitting in the front seat. This effect is reduced by sitting in the middle, where there are no seats/people obscuring your view. Additionally sitting in any seat except the drivers seat while travelling on windy mountain roads is a surefire way to bring up lunch. Reading while in a car is completely out of the question.
Comfort should be a consideration of any type of transport and the thought of facing backwards in a car makes me uncomfortable. While this shouldn't outweigh safety, it certainly shouldn't be ignored either.
It'd be interesting to see if visual cues predicting the steering would counter motion sickness, I suspect so. A projection on the windshield could signal all upcoming steering movement over a threshold, giving your body time to brace.
I don't think safety is even an issue here - I think self-driving cars will be MUCH safer by default, so this kind of safety precautions (turning the front seats) will probably not be needed. I am thinking more in terms of travelling comfort (talking with fellow passengers, playing cards,...).
That said, I agree with your comment on motion sickness. I am guessing that there will be much research in this area - it might be possible to eliminate sickeness by properly adjusting tilt of the car through curves and when braking / accelerating. It would love to play with this, though not in a role of a tester. ;)
It has a lot to do with ability to see where you are going and hence predict/be aware of the vehicles movements. To put the extent of this in perspective, I am noticibly more likely to feel motion sick sitting in the back seat compared to sitting in the front seat. This effect is reduced by sitting in the middle, where there are no seats/people obscuring your view. Additionally sitting in any seat except the drivers seat while travelling on windy mountain roads is a surefire way to bring up lunch. Reading while in a car is completely out of the question.
Comfort should be a consideration of any type of transport and the thought of facing backwards in a car makes me uncomfortable. While this shouldn't outweigh safety, it certainly shouldn't be ignored either.