Despite the prospect that autonomous vehicles will be safer, more efficient and more convenient than their human-driven counterparts, three-quarters of U.S. drivers report feeling afraid to ride in a self-driving car, and only 10 percent report that they’d actually feel safer sharing the roads with driverless vehicles.
PR of this Vaporware has been good, as its assertions frame news stories. "Despite the prospect that..." Well, yes, despite the prospect that nonexistent technology could shit ponies...
But more importantly, safety has many dimensions. I'm pretty sure they can be pretty good at "not hitting other cars" but that's not the same as "making driving conditions, generally, safer." By driving in safe but unexpected and nonstandard ways, they can create chaos around them. They can be safe without enhancing safety. But they won't work, so SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP.