Human drivers who generally do a decent job still have bad days. They still get tired and distracted. They still can't see 360 degrees around them all the time.
Each new human driver also has to be trained from scratch; when we're starting out, we're dangerous, all of us. An experienced human can't download their knowledge into a new driver telepathically. But software (including AI models trained with data from millions of road miles) can be copied into new cars, no problem.
> It's actually harder to drive on the typical American roadways than it is to be on a track.
Highway driving is relatively easy to automate, compared to driving on surface streets with pedestrians, bicycles, etc. Even if self-driving only worked on the highway, it'd still free up a huge amount of time for a lot of commuters. That'd be worth it even if self-driving cars didn't improve the accident rate.
Each new human driver also has to be trained from scratch; when we're starting out, we're dangerous, all of us. An experienced human can't download their knowledge into a new driver telepathically. But software (including AI models trained with data from millions of road miles) can be copied into new cars, no problem.
> It's actually harder to drive on the typical American roadways than it is to be on a track.
Highway driving is relatively easy to automate, compared to driving on surface streets with pedestrians, bicycles, etc. Even if self-driving only worked on the highway, it'd still free up a huge amount of time for a lot of commuters. That'd be worth it even if self-driving cars didn't improve the accident rate.