Love them or hate them, but robotaxis have certainly been making headlines in 2024. And beyond the glamorous, sci-fi-inspired marketing around Tesla’s recently unveiled Cybercab robotaxi, safety has remained, in one way or another, a recurring theme.

Earlier this year, a survey revealed a majority of the U.S. public, or 68%, brought up safety concerns when asked what they thought about having self-driving vehicles (SDVs) on public roads. Yet within that majority, more than half either believe that SDV safety issues can be addressed or that SDVs will actually be safer than humans.