Car companies love to explain how their research and development efforts will lead us toward “a world with zero crashes,” as General Motors puts it. Automakers like Stellantis and Nissan, among others, tout their efforts to develop “next generation technologies to make roads safer for drivers and pedestrians alike.”
With American roadway deaths now exceeding 40,000 per year — including a surge of 10.5 percent in 2021, the fastest on record — these promises sound like…