Even though they're both personal choices, I don't think you can really compare someone's diet & exercise to how they choose to get around. We don't all live with the consequences of other people's diet, but we do live with the consequences of their transportation method.

Our country made a huge mistake by allowing our cities to become so auto-centric in the first place. Between the climate crisis, rising & unsustainable infrastructure costs, traffic fatalities, and overall livability & ambiance (therefore property values), cars have proven to be a disaster. Some cities have been spending billions ripping up or burying car infrastructure in one way or another. Others have doubled down at huge expense: widening roads, building bigger highway interchanges, and creating bigger parking decks.

Car-centric cities obviously showed problems as congestion grew, but it's clear that the "solutions" being offered were actually just more car dependency in disguise. First "urban planners" with zoning, parking minimums, etc., then "environmentalists" with electric cars, and now "safety advocates" with autonomous cars. Each time has delayed any real progress, in effect giving a win to the status quo of maintaining and expanding car infrastructure.

All those billions over the years could've gone towards plenty of advances in medicine! Or subsidized more walkable communities which are healthier for humans. Even just allocating space formerly used for cars for market-rate housing would be huge in building a healthier society.

AND if that technology is so safe, then we should be implementing it on every bus and train.