Are self-driving cars the only answer to climbing fatalities on US roads?

For the first time in almost a decade, 40,000 people were killed on US roads over the course of the past 12 months, and if these numbers continue to rise at the same rate, then autonomous vehicles can't come quickly enough. 

From Audi to Volkswagen, every car company currently endeavouring to bring autonomous vehicles to market is highlighting the technology's ability to eradicate road accidents as its biggest selling point.