The AV industry is only partially correct. The soaring number of U.S. roadway deaths is absolutely a national emergency that demands action, but its companies and supporters are utterly wrong when they suggest that self-driving cars offer a clear solution, let alone the best one. Claims that autonomous vehicles present a deus ex machina that would liberate Americans from deadly collisions—claims that the industry has made for years—should be treated as the self-serving deceptions that they are.
claiming that “our goal is to help people prevent traffic accidents.” Once AV tech is sufficiently reliable and ubiquitous, the story goes, car crashes can be relegated to history, alongside pestilences like smallpox and polio.Are AVs safer than those driven by humans? It’s a question without a clear answer. Cruise’s recent advertisement claimed, accurately, that its robotaxis “never drive distracted, drowsy or drunk,” and that they will not commit certain mistakes that human drivers do.