The current automobile with a human driver has an almost unbelievable safety record: 1 death per 100,000,000 vehicle miles. (really!)

So far, self-driving cars have a safety record circa 1 death per 100,000 vehicle miles. People are generally not good with large numbers until they are put into perspective. A change from 1 death per 100,000,000 vehicle miles to 1 death per 100,000 vehicle miles would mean a THOUSANDFOLD increase in traffic deaths. Instead of 35,000 deaths per year, we would have 35,000,000 deaths per year, more than one tenth of our population. This will NOT be tolerated by even the most enthusiastic self-driving enthusiast.

DFM