Self-Driving Cars Could Save Thousands Of Lives
America and the rest of the globe head furiously toward a future driven by technology — and it’s one that will be helmed, in large part, by self-driving cars. Though risk factors and concerns over safety and reliability are well founded and relevant, self-driving cars could actually help save lives.
In a report published in The Atlantic, researchers estimate that driverless cars could reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90 percent. The report continues, adding, “using the number of fatalities in 2013 as a baseline, self-driving cars could save 29,447 lives a year. In the United States alone, that’s nearly 300,000 fatalities prevented over the course of a decade, and 1.5 million lives saved in a half-century. For context: Anti-smoking efforts saved 8 million lives in the United States over a 50-year period.”
A future with driverless cars won’t only interrupt the system; it will change it dramatically — and for the better. Manufactures and consumers will make smarter, more informed buys, and it will make the road safer for those on it.
