The inevitable consequence of being over-hasty to evaluate autonomous cars under more testing conditions is that accidents occur and confidence in their safety declines. So, if autonomous driving is actually safer even with today’s technology that is hard to prove until far more miles have been accumulated under varying conditions. What is beyond doubt though, after a spate of surveys both in Europe and the US, is that public perception of safety has plummeted. That as well as the accidents themselves has caused some major players to decelerate their trials and deployments, with General Motors postponing testing of autonomous vehicles in New York City, after Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed concerns over safety at this stage. The latest survey, conducted…