Your hypothetical "low accident protection" scenario is laughably unrealistic.
One major point against it is that even though self-driving cars may be here soon, none of us will live to see the day when manual driving is banned. Especially not in the freedom-happy US.
A second major counterpoint is that even in this fascist dictatorship where manual driving is banned, external factors (large wildlife, sudden slippery ice, human error in vehicle maintenance, etc.) will still cause serious accidents.
The third major counterpoint is: say you reduce accident rates by two or three orders of magnitude (which would be huge). Still, a tiny tiny fraction of people would end up in accidents. What society would be OK with saying "Oh, screw it, let those people die so manufacturers can build cheaper cars"?
I can see a country like Singapore banning human-driven cars in a few years.
There are set to get self-driving taxis before the end of the year there. And you already need to bid on a pricy permit to operate your own car. (Certificate of Entitlement. A ten year one goes for more than 50k SGD.)
One major point against it is that even though self-driving cars may be here soon, none of us will live to see the day when manual driving is banned. Especially not in the freedom-happy US.
A second major counterpoint is that even in this fascist dictatorship where manual driving is banned, external factors (large wildlife, sudden slippery ice, human error in vehicle maintenance, etc.) will still cause serious accidents.
The third major counterpoint is: say you reduce accident rates by two or three orders of magnitude (which would be huge). Still, a tiny tiny fraction of people would end up in accidents. What society would be OK with saying "Oh, screw it, let those people die so manufacturers can build cheaper cars"?