The Growing Proof That Autonomous Cars Save Lives

Good news! Of course, autonomous vehicles are more safe than human driven vehicles.

Why a [big] government mandate for automatic emergency braking was imposed is very regrettable! Unnecessary!

"... mounting research suggests that self-driving cars crash significantly less often than people, and with far fewer injuries. Evidence also shows that advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and other building blocks of autonomy—some of which are already mandated on every new car—are also reducing occupant and pedestrian injuries and deaths, along with insurance claims. ...

On the ADAS front, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems that recognize people in front of the car cut pedestrian crashes by 27 percent. Those AEB systems are mandated for all light vehicles in the U.S. by 2029, and more than 90 percent of new models already comply under a voluntary automakers’ agreement. A separate IIHS study found that automated braking greatly reduced rear-end crashes, by 50 percent, and their injuries by 56 percent. ...

A key question is whether Waymo’s robotaxis, currently limited to fair-weather operation in a handful of cities in the U.S., are directly comparable to humans driving a wider variety of roads in much more variable conditions. ..."

Are Self Driving Cars Safe as Early Data Suggests? - IEEE Spectrum "Self-driving tech could prevent 580,000 deaths every year"