cyclotic - you gave the example of your son hitting a deer.
Now if that had been a pedestrian - at 70 mph, the person would have been killed no matter what.
But if, assume, your son had been driving at 30 mph in a built-up area and hit a jaywalker. Your son committed no crime, but he would still be heartbroken that he hurt someone — even if it was completely the other person’s fault.
Most US driving is on highways - except in the North-east. In the UK, it is different - most driving is in heavily built-up areas.
Different conditions.
In the case of the UK - say your son is driving down a road in London and hits a pedestrian. Even if it is 100% the pedestrian’s fault, I’m sure your son will be relieved that he would not kill someone.
The Pedestrian would still have erred, no doubt.
The car in the UK should save the passengers and secondarily the pedestrian (outsider).
Think of it as Asimov’s 3 laws of autos :)
Ever seen a head on collision at 30 mph?
A few years ago, I was at an auto crash test facility and stood about 20 feet away from a 25 mph test collision.
Violent doesn’t even begin to describe it. We analyzed the slow motion video’s after that.
Putting a bunch of extra safety stuff like soft bumpers onto a car for even a 25 or 30 mph crash is pretty much a placebo.