In BriefIn a recent tweet, astrophysicist and popular sciencecommunicator Neil deGrasse Tyson claimed that car accidents will bethe leading cause of death in a world free of diseases and aging.The clearest way to combat this is the adoption of self-drivingcars. Leading Cause of Death

Atthe most basic level, the leading cause of death amongst humans is our frailty. We get sick. We age. Inevitably, we die. While that sounds grim,its simply the nature of our biology right now, but it may not be for long.

Right now, scientists worldwide are working tireless to keep death at bay. Theyre developing treatmentsthat could potentially cureall diseases and even stop aging itself, which many now consider a disease itself and not an inevitable fact of life.

So what happens when we accomplishall that weve set out to do? American astrophysicist and famous science personality Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks well still have one more hurdle to overcome, and he shared it via a recent tweet.

Tysons point is backed up by a number of studies on car fatalities and the development of autonomous vehicles. In the United States alone, roughtly 30,000 to 40,000 people die from car crashesevery year, and an estimated94 percent of those are due to human error. Additionally, some six million drivers admitted to bumping other cars on purpose, according to a report by the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Autonomous vehicle manufacturers agree that self-driving systems would make the roads safer by eliminating human error. While these manufacturers have yet to achieve true Level 5 autonomy, recent developments in driverless vehicle systems arent too far off the mark.

Most notable among these is, of course, Tesla. At a time when the rest of the world wasnt too keen on investing in autonomous technology, Tesla and CEO Elon Musk vigorously pursued the tech. Now, the company has developed its ownAutopilot self-driving software, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports has already reduced Tesla accidents by 40 percent.

Ride-hailing company Uber, in partnership with Volvo, has also been busy testing and rolling out its own autonomous vehicles. The company was the first to introduce self-driving taxis, it was responsible for test driving the worlds first autonomous truck, and it has plans for an autonomous flying car.

Other industry giants from both the tech and car manufacturing sectors arealso developing autonomous technology. Most recently, Apple confirmed that theyve been working on an autonomous system that could improve self-driving vehicles, possibly for use in their own line of cars.

General Motors recently deliveredthe worlds first mass-produced self-driving cars, while others, such asVolkswagen and Ford, are moving from the concept stages to production. And then theres theever-growing number of startupsalso in the self-driving game.

Given all these efforts, autonomous vehicles are poised to be a major part of transportation in the near future. Public adoption may be slow at first, but once the tech is embraced, well be able to check another threat to humanity off the list.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson: Self-Driving Cars Will Save Lives - Futurism - Futurism