The road towards self-driving cars is paved with promises to save humans from themselves (and each other). Waymo, Google’s self-driving project, says that “the status quo of road safety is unacceptable” and that autonomous driving “can save lives”. Elon Musk, never one to be outdone, said in October when unveiling Tesla’s Cybercab that autonomous cars would become “10 times safer than a human” and “save lives — like, a lot of lives.”

It’s a worthy goal, and one that sounds achievable. After all, humans are terrible drivers, aren’t they? In 2022, the latest year for which there is detailed data, 42,514 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes on US roads, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of those fatalities, 29 per cent were killed in speeding-related crashes, and 32 per cent were classed as “alcohol-impaired driving fatalities”.

Fully self-driving cars, in contrast, don’t drink and drive. They don’t speed because they’re impatient or running late. They don’t get sleepy. They don’t get distracted by their phones. On top of that, they have 360-degree vision. “You have to have eyes in the back of your head,” I remember a truck driver telling me once. Autonomous vehicles actually do.