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Comment by nkrisc | Hacker News Reader

Because why the person needed an ambulance is completely immaterial to whether the ambulance was impeded a self-driving vehicle or not.

It could have just as easily been a heart attack and the questions raised about self-driving vehicles would be no different.

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GP is criticizing the narrative focus. A robotaxi causing a new, less serious problem is the focus over a commonplace very serious problem caused by conventional cars.

Humans have always lived around danger; and now, for as long as anyone can remember, cars have been possibly the most significant source danger while also being integral in modern life. I would argue reacting to new problems is the rational thing to do.

Sure, cars are dangerous, but they enable a social structure that is far safer than what we had(hospitals, specialized surgeons, first responders, advanced pharmaceuticals, etc) to say nothing of productivity.

> Sure, cars are dangerous, but they enable a social structure that is far safer than what we had(hospitals, specialized surgeons, first responders, advanced pharmaceuticals, etc) to say nothing of productivity.

The next time I go to the Amsterdam, I'll be sure to see how many less hospitals they have.

But the issues with driven cars are talked about a lot. This is a situation where we have to evaluate if self driving cars should be allowed to test in the public commons. All other discussions aren't relevant to this discussion (but are still important to have)

But the article isn’t about human drivers hitting pedestrians. There is already much written about that.

No I think OP has a valid point. There is almost no news coverage about the absolutely massive problem of human drivers killing people constantly. It's become an actual crisis in America that's spiraling out of control.

Meanwhile the media only focuses on weird stuff like scooter accidents and self driving cars which is statistically irrelevant.

It was blocked by a self-driving vehicle and an empty cop car.

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