5 ms·
30,000 people in the USA alone are killed each year because of human driving error. Humans are not getting any better at driving. Car safety mechanisms have red
by cryptoz 9y ago
30,000 people in the USA alone are killed each year because of human driving error. Humans are not getting any better at driving. Car safety mechanisms have reduced road death rates significantly in the last 50 years, but still - 30,000 deaths/year in the USA alone due to human driver error.
Cars will be automated because cars have to be automated.
- chrismealy 9y agoOther countries have much lower car death rates. It's a social problem that can be solved without waiting technological miracles.
- Bahamut 9y agoThe US death rate is lower than most countries: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic...
- stevenwoo 9y agoThe general trend from that data appears that the higher the standard of living, the higher the safety is per driving mile and the US is where one would expect in such a list, better than third world countries, worse than Europe.
- chrismealy 9y agoCanada has 40% fewer road deaths by population. I don't think they're that much richer or smarter than Americans. Complacency is killing people.
- stevenwoo 9y agoGood point. Probably no single simple correlation will do - higher fuel prices points to the one thing that Western Europe and Canada share off the top of my head compared to the USA. (That and nationalized healthcare. :) )
- chrismealy 9y agoIf raising gas taxes would save 12,000 lives per year then America should definitely do it. It's a social problem that doesn't require technological solutions.
- gjjrfcbugxbhf 9y agoJust because we want or even need something doesn't mean we get it.
- throw2016 9y agoSelf driving advocates having trivialized human drivers have now realized the technology is not quite there and have changed tack to demonizing human drivers and scare stories and FUD. These are self interested business people. There are real issues around self driving cars like safety, autonomy, rent seeking, corporate control, individual freedom and surveillance that self interested tunnel vision advocates simply cannot comprehend.
- cmurf 9y agoAbout the same number of people die of influenza each year. We've been dying in these numbers for a long time, and it really doesn't matter at a macro scale. It's fine to try and do better, there are some positives for trying, but this is more of a want, not a need.
- averagewall 9y agoThose are mostly the elderly and babies who have a high risk of dieing anyway. Elderly people especially are certain to die of something soon. If it's not the flu, it'll be a cold or an infection or whatever.