Comment Re:The standard pro self-driving argument (Score 1) 59
> I would hope that self-driving cars would allow me to keep my autonomy as my eyesight is getting weaker
Roughly 6 millions accidents are reported in the US alone every year. And approximately 43,000 people die on the road every year.
For us to make progress on this front, we have to put these cars on the road and learn from their mistakes. There is no other good way to develop this tech. If these cars were causing tremendous amount of damage to people and property, then yes, they should not be out there. But, data suggests that they are not doing that. Data also suggests that these cars are getting better and safer with each mile traveled.
If you have a better, safer alternative for us to develop this much needed tech, please share.
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Yes, train your drivers better and have laws that take the bad ones off the road.
That's why the US has a road fatality rate of 14 per 100,000 pop and the UK has 2.6 per 100,000 pop. Your western countries average around 5 per 100,000 pop (Canada is 4.7, Australia 4.5, France 4.9, Germany 3.3) and we're only really beaten by the Nordic nations who are insanely safe. Before you whine, the per mile statistics aren't any better and the only reason the US drives more is because you won't walk to the shops.
So this means not only having standards for getting a license, also a standard for keeping one. This means punishing DUI, distracted driving (read: morons on the phone), et al.
Automated cars won't fix the problem with the US because the problem isn't technological, it's social. Americans feel entitled to drive the way they do, which is dangerously. In Europe, they aren't any better than human drivers, in many cases they're worse.