> But when we think forward to the inevitable autonomous vehicle accidents that will occur, the conversation turns to how many lives they’ll have saved, and how

> But when we think forward to the inevitable autonomous vehicle accidents that will occur, the conversation turns to how many lives they’ll have saved, and how much safer they’ll be. Driving to the airport is orders of magnitude less safe than flying. If a malfunctioning automatic system is decreasing the reliability of flying, that's a huge problem. However, I'd wager that even an autonomous car that's only just able to pass a driver's exam would be significantly safer than a human driver because it would _follow the rules_ and _not be distracted_. Even if that system isn't perfect, it's probably still better than an experienced driver.