Or alternatively, allow self driving only on highways and such, where it's much safer?

I don't think progress is stopped that easily

As the story illustrates, there might be situations were expecteded litigation is worth it. I'm not saying this is morally right, but companies will try to maximize their profit anyway, even if there are (calculable) risks involved.

In the case of self-driving this might mean being a profitable car manufacturer vs becoming a niche, enthusiast car producer for people who still enjoy driving as a leisure.

Here is one of essay on this: https://studymoose.com/a-utilitarian-argument-in-the-ford-pi...