Thanks Andrew - a very interesting read. Is there another issue here associated with the data being from collision causation? If you're in a vehicle (lets say a robotaxi) does it matter who is to blame if you're involved and injured? Claims wouldn't be made against the robotaxi company if they're rear-ended but the blame is of little comfort to the person in the back of the robotaxi who suffers from whiplash. A robotaxi that stops abruptly for no apparent reason causing an accident doesn't make it ok even if the law says the vehicle behind is at fault. So perhaps data on collisions - whatever the cause - is also important. (Also - I enjoyed my week's-worth of free Waymo rides. No socks to declare).
Yes -- I think there are additional dimensions to explore here. A really intriguing one is around formal expectations around driving behavior vs social (and in some places codified) norms. In principle a driver is expected to be sufficiently aware and in control that they can respond to, for instance, a car in front stopping abruptly -- whatever the reason. However, social norms indicate that stopping abruptly is bad behavior, and therefore sometimes you are in the right if you rear end another car (irrespective of whether it's because you weren't giving 100% of your attention to driving safely). None of which helps the poor person in the back of the hit car who suffers!
I'd like some socks.
Thanks Andrew - a very interesting read. Is there another issue here associated with the data being from collision causation? If you're in a vehicle (lets say a robotaxi) does it matter who is to blame if you're involved and injured? Claims wouldn't be made against the robotaxi company if they're rear-ended but the blame is of little comfort to the person in the back of the robotaxi who suffers from whiplash. A robotaxi that stops abruptly for no apparent reason causing an accident doesn't make it ok even if the law says the vehicle behind is at fault. So perhaps data on collisions - whatever the cause - is also important. (Also - I enjoyed my week's-worth of free Waymo rides. No socks to declare).
Yes -- I think there are additional dimensions to explore here. A really intriguing one is around formal expectations around driving behavior vs social (and in some places codified) norms. In principle a driver is expected to be sufficiently aware and in control that they can respond to, for instance, a car in front stopping abruptly -- whatever the reason. However, social norms indicate that stopping abruptly is bad behavior, and therefore sometimes you are in the right if you rear end another car (irrespective of whether it's because you weren't giving 100% of your attention to driving safely). None of which helps the poor person in the back of the hit car who suffers!