Part of the problem with autonomous cars is that they're new and the accidents which they cause are generally different to what we are used to....and often seem to be accidents that a human driver wouldn't have.
They might be statistically just as safe or safer than human driven vehicles, but because humans aren't used to the specific kinds of risk they pose, people will be sceptical.
Eg....autonomous car model known as the "Mitsu-Tachi X1000" drives millions of miles over a decade and one example knocks over a pedestrian because the AI gets confused....people are up in arms because a human driver would probably have avoided the pedestrian. No amount of saying that a traditional car model covering the same timeframe and mileage would probably have resulted in five deaths (or whatever the stats are)....it's new and unfamiliar and people don't always trust it. Except for the people who own it, who trust it too much and doze off or play games when they should be keeping an eye out for unexpected incidents.
Many humans enjoy driving, though my wife would quite like an autonomous car. They will probably form a part of the future. There must be a lot of drivers who would appreciate a break in a long journey where they let the AI take over for an hour or so.
The comparison with planes and trains is odd, because I think we all know they are safer than driving....but when a jumbo jet crashes or when there's a serious train crash, the death toll and life changing injuries often run into tens or, in the case of planes, hundreds. They make big headlines because of the scale of the tragedy.
Not that I have much faith in the great British public's understanding of statistics. Recent events have proved that understanding doesn't even reach minimal.
Edited by absinthedude, 19 August 2022 - 11:18.