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> Instead of proposing legislation that everyone must own a self-driving vehicle (the path self-driving vehicle advocates seem to be heading towards) I think the path many advocates are headed towards is actually more radical: largely eliminating personal vehicle ownership entirely, with rides available as a service, Uber-like, as part of most people's multimodal transportation mix that might also include transit, more walking, etc. I don't expect either direction to occur via a mandate, though, but the economics of the more aggressive plan are interesting. Most cars sit unused for 22 hours a day, and there are enormous economies to be gained from improved utilization if cars are a shareable asset, especially with the labor taken out of the equation (as compared to current Uber), and I think the shift may well happen on its own, at least in part and in some places. And to be clear, it's not an all-or-nothing proposition; replacing some drivers still potentially improves everyone's safety. As for the second bit: if you think my first stat is disingenuous, pay attention to my second, which you cut off halfway through. In that age bracket, automobiles are the top killer overall, including health-related causes. The flu disproportionately kills infants and the elderly (and for what it's worth, you vastly overstated the efficacy of the flu vaccine in your original post; it's totally worth getting, but still only decreased recipients' chances of contracting the flu by a bit more than half; "totally vaccinatable [and] preventable" it is not). |