> I guarantee there are just as many incompetent programmers as there are incompetent drivers out there.
I don't feel this is a good argument against self-driving cars, mandatory or not. Code and hardware for self-driving cars would go through multiple passes of design, heavy testing both automated and manual, etc. The same can't be said of snap decisions by drivers. There will absolutely still be accidents with self-driving cars -- mechanical failures, bugs in software, etc. The question is whether that number would be significantly lower than the number of accidents that happen right now, and I find it highly doubtful that it wouldn't be.
Code and hardware for self-driving cars would go through multiple passes of design
I'm all in favour of space-shuttle levels of design, implementation and testing... but like the space shuttle, someone in management will find a way to cock it up.
Now, you make a good point: will it reduce the number of deaths? Doing zero research before I go to bed, my gut instinct is that yes, it would make a difference in countries where the requirements to gain a driving license are, in effect, the ability to write and sign one's name correctly.
For others... maybe, maybe not. Purely because I'm very pessimistic about how much money the car manufacturers would throw at the problem. Part of me thinks that the likes of Ford would, somewhat ironically, vastly outspend the likes of BMW.
I think the automatic car race would be really interesting. You'll have people fighting for the best safety numbers, the best comfort numbers (more smooth movements and such), etc. It would be an amazing bit of competition.
I don't feel this is a good argument against self-driving cars, mandatory or not. Code and hardware for self-driving cars would go through multiple passes of design, heavy testing both automated and manual, etc. The same can't be said of snap decisions by drivers. There will absolutely still be accidents with self-driving cars -- mechanical failures, bugs in software, etc. The question is whether that number would be significantly lower than the number of accidents that happen right now, and I find it highly doubtful that it wouldn't be.