Is Automated Driving Safe Yet?

In light of two recent reports of motorcyclists being killed in collisions with Tesla vehicles in Autopilot mode, we look closely at the issue of whether automated driving is really safe. 

Death of Two Motorcyclists 

If automated driving is a factor in death on the roads, it seems legitimate to ask the question ‘is automated driving safe?’, especially since it’s a very new technology. In fact, there have been some widely publicised reports of deaths linked to vehicles operating on Autopilot mode in the US in recent times. For example: