Self-driving cars pose no serious threat at this time

A crash involving a Tesla Model S in Utah on May 11 has added fuel to the controversy over whether or not self-driving cars, in their current state, are safe for use. Sadly, the 11th was not a unique incident. Just last week, the company confirmed that autopilot was activated during a fatal crash in California this March. These accidents, combined with Tesla's recent failure to meet production goals, has led critics to view the company in a bad light. However, these facts do not mean the technology is too dangerous to be used.

By putting the issue of self-driving cars into perspective, many of the concerns evaporate. For example, in their entire history, self-driving vehicles have only been at fault for four fatalities. By contrast, humans are responsible for 3,287 car accident fatalities per day. Though it is true that there are significantly more human drivers on the road, if autonomous vehicles really crashed more often than humans do, the figure would be much higher.

There was a barrage of media coverage this March over the tragic death of a pedestrian who was struck by a self-driving Uber. This was the first (and so far the only) pedestrian killed by an autonomous vehicle. Human drivers on the other hand, kill sixteen pedestrians each day.

It makes a good story when a violent crash involving risky new technology occurs. But what are seldom reported are the numerous incidents where self-driving cars have prevented serious accidents. The latter is much more common than the former. The truth is that deadly accidents involving autonomous cars are rare. This, combined with the fact that autonomous vehicles have a decent record of preventing crashes, shows that they are not the dangerous hazard that critics make them out to be.

Joseph Clark

Roselle