Pedestrians Said To Need 'Reprogramming' For The Benefit Of Self-Driving Cars

How will pedestrians fare in an era of self-driving cars? When growing up, most children are taught the rather simple but altogether life-saving idea that they should look both ways before crossing the street. Why is there a need to teach such a safety precaution? Because the streets are occupied by moving objects, including heavy ones that can knock the stuffing out of you. Cars coming down a street can ram into a person and the result is downright ugly. It is likely that the pedestrian struck by a car is going to suffer some number of injuries, ranging from mild scratches and a few broken bones to the sad and all too often loss-of-life entirely. According to U.S. government statistics, the year 2019 had about 6,200 pedestrian fatalities and approximately 76,000 pedestrians were injured, which is generally the annual counts that occur year after year (for my collection of driving stats, see the link here).