Numberphile had a recent video on car crashes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3D7XYQExt0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3D7XYQExt0 In short: Since kin

Numberphile had a recent video on car crashes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3D7XYQExt0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3D7XYQExt0 In short: Since kinetic energy goes as (velocity)^2, doubling the speed will quadruple the stopping distance (MANY other factors are significant, this is a rough estimate). 3X of the speed is ~9X the stopping distance, etc. NHTSB guidelines for 'proper' following distance are nearly never seen in LA and NYC, it's typically much shorter. If anything, L5 AVs will probably have longer gaps between AVs than what is currently on the road. Likely, the major improvement of L5 AVs will be in safety, not congestion. It turns out (I think), you can't technology your way out of a political problem. We need higher density housing, not magic carpets (effectively).