Self-driving could be one way to fix the problem at some hand-wavy time in the future. Right now, however, reducing the number of cars in cities, slowing them down, making alternatives to driving more attractive, improving driver education and awareness, and changing the concept of car safety to include people outside the vehicle are all options available to us. Unlike automated driving, these address other problems our society faces, too, like obesity, insularity, pollution, and climate change.

That would be great, but history has shown doing those things to be less realistic. I'm in Phoenix and Waymo is all over and driving safely. We need this everywhere ASAP.

History hasn't shown that at all. In many places, these changes are already happening, and fast. Meanwhile, self-driving cars are a relative pipe dream and likely to cause even bigger problems than we have now, if and when they ever materialize.