The reason that’s a news story is because the outcome is unusual.

When things are normal and happening all the time, they’re not reported as abnormal outcomes.

The world is a big place. Being able to think of a counter-example does not negate a general point.

Freakonomics did a pod about this, titled “how to get away with murder”.

see https://sf.streetsblog.org/2026/03/06/motorist-careens-onto-... and see what the police said to the driver…

Who does it benefit if an accident ruins a second life?

What does a jail sentence deter? ("[no] gross negligence [...] wasn’t engaging in a race or sideshow, was not texting, and was not under influence")

This person was 80 years old with no criminal record, needs to pay $67400 in restitution, do 200 hours of community service, isn't allowed to drive for 3 years but "never intends to drive again". Apologised to the family of the victims. She's taking responsibility and I can't imagine forced labor at that age is fun. What more can you ask for here? The family member isn't coming back if she gets what's not unlikely to be a life sentence

Edit:

> She told a witness at the scene that she was trying to park her car when she accidentally moved her foot to the gas pedal.

This seems to happen a lot. Don't know about statistics but this happened to someone I know at 50yo (thankfully only damaged their own car minorly), and you hear it on the news with some regularity. Maybe the gas needs to be in a fundamentally different spot from the brake? We can jail the people to whom it happens, sure, but I can understand a judge using their head instead of their heart. The real solution must come either from the automotive industry or legislation

Better than the current standard for AV, which is "what floor?"

> The standard for human drivers is through the floor.

The linked article doesn't describe the standard. It describes a single, exceptional example.