If the car industry were like the airline industry...

[durbster]

I was reading something about the origins of the airline industry recently and how, in order to get people to fly in large numbers, they recognised passengers must have confidence in the whole system. You must feel the planes are safe, the pilots are trained and there are numerous backup and safety systems throughout.

The airline industry itself has been very effective at implementing measures to prevent problems happening repeatedly and, as a result, flying is a very safe way to travel.

Here's my hypothetical question to ponder:
If the car industry had taken the same approach from the beginning, where every serious car accident was studied and measures put in place to prevent it happening again, what would cars and driving be like today?

My guess:
- Far fewer people would have licences so car usage would be more like taxis
- Autonomous cars would now be prevalent
- Speed limits would be lower, especially on A-roads
- Most roads would be dual-carriageways
- Some corners would have run-offs or gravel traps like race tracks
- Cars would not be allowed in cities; cyclists would not be allowed outside them

What do you think?

[durbster]

TheDrBrian said:

durbster said:

My guess:
- Autonomous cars would now be prevalent

Autopilot doesn't quite work how you think it does.

Ah, that isn't what I meant. I was going with this assumption:

Crafty_ said:

Agreed, but I would think a large proportion of road deaths are ultimately human error.

I think investigations would quickly determine that human error is the main cause of car problems, therefore efforts to automate as much as possible would have happened much sooner.

[durbster]

RSTurboPaul said:

How do the deaths per unit of distance travelled or deaths per unit of time compare?
...
So, er, TL:DR would be 'it seems complicated'... lol

You could be right but credit where it's due for the analysis here