"They will have to be proven as perfectly safe. One accident and people will go crazy."
And though that's true, it of course made me think about the countless accidents involving human-driven cars through distraction, drink/drugs, weather, medical issues, confusion and whatever else.
We haven't proven our driving abilities as perfectly safe, not by a long shot!
There is even a disruption potential: Put together a new insurance company that only insures self driving cars and make it meaningfully cheaper. The ones that still insure self directed cars and self driving cars both will have a tough time to compete because their blended economics don't allow for the super cheap rates.
I'm keen to see self-driving cars, but there will be a lot of opposition. Lobbying from trucker unions and the like will push negative stories and pressure decision makers, for example.
I would bet the headlines and maybe a politician or two would yell it, but I would also guess that the overall reaction would be much more reasonable.