Self-driving cars could kill hundreds but save tens of thousands, Toyota executive says

Lentz estimated that autonomous vehicles could eventually save 35,000 lives annually, representing the 98% of deadly crashes blamed on driver error.

Self-driving cars could kill hundreds of people every year in the early going but save many more lives, a Toyota executive said Thursday at an event near the New York Auto Show.

After a self-driving Uber car killed a pedestrian in Arizona earlier this month, concerns about the movement toward autonomous transportation have escalated.

But Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz said Thursday that more deaths are coming as automakers and tech companies pursue self-driving vehicles.

"The reality is there will be mistakes along the way," he said at a Reuters news event moderated by reporter David Shepardson. "A hundred or 500 or a thousand people could lose their lives in accidents like we’ve seen in Arizona."

Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/03/29/self-driving-cars-uber-crash-toyota/468804002/