Today’s question comes from Wallace D. in Knob Hill who asks: “I read your article on the driverless vehicle. Isn’t this just sci-fi? Will they ever actually hit the market and if they do, what will they look like and who will be responsible if there is a crash?
According to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2011 America’s 212 million licensed drivers crashed over 5.3 million times, injured 2.2 million people and killed another 32,367. Road traffic injuries have become the leading killer of young people aged 15 to 29. According to a World Health Organization Report, almost 1.3 million people die each year on the world’s roads making this the ninth leading cause of death, globally.
Worldwide, road crashes cause between 20 million and 50 million non-fatal injuries every year.