Are self-driving cars safer than cars with drivers?

In this episode of the More or Less podcast, Lizzy McNeill investigates claims made by Tesla and Waymo about the safety of their self-driving cars compared to human-driven vehicles. The podcast examines the statistics cited by these companies, revealing that Waymo's self-driving taxis are supposedly five times safer and Tesla's cars ten times safer than human-operated cars. However, the analysis reveals significant caveats, including the limited areas and conditions in which Waymo cars operate and the fact that Tesla's autopilot-engaged cars still require a human driver. The discussion highlights the challenges in accurately comparing the safety records of self-driving and human-driven cars due to differing conditions and the limited data available for autonomous vehicles.