Like much of US automobile culture, the emphasis on what's best for the cars and their occupants. Yes, the NHTSA ratings are heavily tilted towards the safety o

Like much of US automobile culture, the emphasis on what's best for the cars and their occupants. Yes, the NHTSA ratings are heavily tilted towards the safety of occupants of the vehicle. Highway and road design are also skewed towards the best outcome for the automobile. Think of it like a trolley problem where the ideal result is the least damage to the trolley and harm to its occupants. A relatively new term has come into use, though: Vulnerable Road Users. The current state of automobile and road safety has drastically reduced the number and severity of injured and killed automobile occupants. What's continued to rise is the numbers of pedestrians, cyclists, people using wheelchairs and mobility devices, and even people who work alongside automobile infrastructure. The lack of concern for anyone outside of a motor vehicle is part of why driverless cars have been licensed despite well-publicized incidents involving these vehicles, e.g. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-16/woman-gets-millions-after-getting-dragged-by-self-driving-taxi-in-san-francisco https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-16/woman-ge...