It’s certainly a technology in development, and yes the semi-autonomous stuff is dangerous, bu I think that is specifically because the human driver is held responsible when a semi-autonomous car fails. If a Waymo vehicle in Phoenix is involved in a traffic violation, then it’s a malfunction of the vehicle. Right now those are handled by the taxi service, but ultimately it would have to be regarded as a product defect, like a sudden unintended acceleration or a Pinto exploding.
(Note the gas tank placement in the Ford 1971 Pinto was not unusual for car designs at the time, and the Pinto model had a lower rate of tank ruptures or explosions due to rear-end collisions, compared to the general population of subcompact cars at the time.)
It’s certainly a technology in development, and yes the semi-autonomous stuff is dangerous, bu I think that is specifically because the human driver is held responsible when a semi-autonomous car fails. If a Waymo vehicle in Phoenix is involved in a traffic violation, then it’s a malfunction of the vehicle. Right now those are handled by the taxi service, but ultimately it would have to be regarded as a product defect, like a sudden unintended acceleration or a Pinto exploding.
(Note the gas tank placement in the Ford 1971 Pinto was not unusual for car designs at the time, and the Pinto model had a lower rate of tank ruptures or explosions due to rear-end collisions, compared to the general population of subcompact cars at the time.)