chazzed said:
On busy city streets with pedestrians, bicyclists, and people working? Not necessarily. In any case, the general public will certainly not go for self-driving 18-wheelers until all of the relevant statistics on safety are overwhelmingly on the side of automation.
Yes, and I will tell you why.
Computers are able to acquire and analyze additional types of data and in more directions than a human being can.
One example is radar, but there are others.
Self-driving cars can have cameras pointing 360 degrees. A human can't.
Self-driving cars have already been put through these trials. In fact, Google has been driving them around the SF Bay Area for years now.
Add to that that self-driving cars are not only more perceptive but also less subject to incapacitation or engage in reckless behavior. They won't fall asleep at the wheel, drag race each other, drive drunk, be distracted by children while driving, and so on.
It is expected that self-driving vehicles won't be able to avoid all accidents, but they should be able to avoid a significant number (I read 33% in one article) of them.
In particular, I think 18 wheelers traveling cross country are a great place to start. Interstates are pretty predictable and cost savings can be had by keeping the load moving 24/7 without any driver fatigue. Also, one can program the trucks to not engage in dangerous behavior I see some truckers engage in like trying to pass each other on steep hills when they should all just be in the right lane where they belong.
