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People often run red lights because they aren't paying attention too. It still doesn't make headlines on CNN.

A person running a red light is driving just one car at a time. A self-driving car's software is (potentially) driving many cars.

I do not think "a self-driving car runs a red light" is analogous to "a person runs a red light". A closer analogy is to "a distinct class of people who run red lights".

I do agree that the media response is overblown, however I do not think it is without some merit.

"A person" discounts the millions of other persons individually doing it around the world - orders of magnitude more than driverless cars could possibly achieve this decade. Their combined effort, while not just running red lights, kills an estimated 1.25 million people a year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...

Humans who run red lights don't have PR firms proclaiming they're disrupting driving and changing the world. That stance sets you up for bad press when your technology fails.

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