Self-driving cars are coming, and the technology promises to save lives

Companies like Google and Tesla have held up autonomous vehicles as a panacea for road accidents, which claim over 32,000 American lives each year. This month, Obama put stock in that idea, signing a $305bn transportation bill that includes grants for self driving vehicles. That backs up 10 years of US Department of Transportation work on technical studies and policies surrounding autonomous cars. Many researchers say forecasting the impact of self-driving cars on reducing accidents is difficult because there just isn't enough real-life road testing and data to make a reliable forecast. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, however, found that over 90% of car crashes involve human error.