The amazing thing about Autonomous cars is that they can look everywhere, constantly. Humans only have two eyes, and no matter how much they are looking, there is always something they could miss.

How autonomous vehicles could save over 350K lives in the US and millions worldwide | ZDNet

American roads are deadly. In 2016, 37,461 people died in traffic accidents in the US, a 5.6 percent increase over 2015, according to the US Department of Transportation (DoT). This is down from 1970, when around 60,000 people died in traffic accidents in the US.

From article, (Cars with automated technology have sensors that never lose vigilance. "They're always looking for pedestrians. They're always looking for the edge of the road. They're always watching the car in front. They don't become distracted or drunk, and I think that's really the main reason why most experts would say that there is a definite possibility that automation can significantly reduce those human error caused fatal crashes," Maddox said.

However, there is a learning curve, as drivers in cars with automated technology operate in an environment with drivers who are not in cars with any level of autonomy. With five levels of autonomy, as defined by the DoT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there is a range of how much autonomy a driver can choose, with Level 1 providing a specific function, such as steering or accelerating done automatically by the car, and Level 3 where the automated driving system begins to monitor the driving environment.

Sometimes drivers might be frustrated with a slower-moving vehicle that is actually an autonomous car, even though the other driver doesn't know it. And this could result in accidents as frustrated drivers can often act aggressively. Maddox said he's been in his own vehicle at a Level 2 of automation, and spotted aggressive drivers trying to get around his slower-moving vehicle.

"Really, the jury's still out [on the safety of autonomous vehicles], and what we need is lots of data. We know a lot about human-caused crashes, because we've been studying that for 100 years. We don't have the same level of data, the same breadth of data, on automated vehicles. Not even close. So to really be sure on the effects, we need to acquire and analyze lots of data," Maddox said.

"While it will take us years to collect the data that even starts to rival what we have today, the good news is that automated vehicles are data-collecting machines. That's how they work. They collect data about their environment and other road users. So if we can correctly and effectively tap into that data, we don't have to wait 100 years. The data collection and analysis process can go a lot faster because of the data that's generated on board and off board these vehicles," he said.

One thing to keep in mind is that in the beginning, there will still be accidents caused by autonomous vehicles. "Aviation is extremely safe. But in the early years of aviation, there were more crashes as well. There were more in the beginning with traditional cars. Anything new, whether FDA drugs or new surgical procedures, get safer as they get better and better. But when a new product comes out initially, it might break down. But eventually it can get better," Zannoni said.)

For More Info