My mother once almost killed a child who ran into the road. The kid was on the side of the road and suddenly ran into the street. She did not see him, and he ran into some sharp piece of metal on the car (this was in the early 60s). He bled profusely, and the neighborhood people came out and almost became violent with her, blaming her for the incident.

If she had been in an automated car, it would have almost certainly have stopped before the collision.

And what's wrong with slowing/stopping for a plastic bag? How often do plastic bags really sit in the street shaped like babies?