"So, here’s the Cambridge Test: When perfected, what will an automated vehicle do on that nasty stroad in your community, the one where the cars today drive too

"So, here’s the Cambridge Test: When perfected, what will an automated vehicle do on that nasty stroad in your community, the one where the cars today drive too fast and the drivers are too oblivious, where nobody sane would dare to cross? When all cars are AV, what happens when someone crosses midblock? The obvious answer is that the vehicles stop and allow the person to cross. They don’t run that person down. They don’t kill them. The automated vehicle will be programmed to always stop when someone steps out into traffic. As a society, we would not have it any other way. So, knowing this, who is ever going to stop and wait at another traffic signal? What person on foot, in their right mind, would wait for a gap to open so they can cross without impacting the flow of traffic? Nobody." This is supremely unrealistic. No one on the right side of crazy is going to face the judgement of several of their peers to cross in the middle of traffic. The only exception being drunken friends doing it both to save time and as a troll to drivers. If self-driving vehicles ever do become reality (i.e. a corporation takes legal liability for mistakes the vehicle makes) it will be a boon for cyclists and pedestrians. Knowing that the vehicle beside you when cycling isn't texting, and knowing that when you're crossing nobody's late trying to beat a red light would make not using a car much easier.