Brooks said that, as of 2017, everyone had suddenly become aware of self-driving cars and thought they would soon be deployed.

Judged as of 2017-09-07. True: surveys, media coverage or polls from about 2016–2017 show widespread and recently increased public awareness of self-driving cars, and a common expectation that they would be deployed soon. Mostly true: awareness was widespread and rising, but expectations of imminent deployment were held by a substantial minority rather than by 'everyone'. Mixed: awareness was high but most people did not expect deployment soon, or awareness had not risen recently. Mostly false: awareness was limited to the tech industry and enthusiasts. False: the public was largely unaware of self-driving cars in 2017.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 3. Americans’ attitudes toward driverless vehicles Pew Research Center · 4 October 2017

   “The vast majority of Americans have at least some familiarity with the effort to develop autonomous vehicles: 94% say they have heard something about this issue, with 35% indicating they have heard “a lot” about it.”

2. E2 3. Americans’ attitudes toward driverless vehicles Pew Research Center · 4 October 2017

   “When asked for their own views on how long it will be before most vehicles on the road are autonomous, a majority of Americans (56%) anticipate that this will happen in the next 10 to 49 years.”

3. E3 We polled Americans about self-driving cars. Here’s what they told us. Vox · 29 August 2016

   “And most Americans don’t expect to ride in a self-driving car any time soon. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they were not too likely or not at all likely to ride in a self-driving car in the next 10 years.”

4. E4 Americans Feel Unsafe Sharing the Road with Fully Self-Driving Cars AAA (American Automobile Association) · 7 March 2017

   “In 2016, a AAA survey found that three-quarters of Americans reported feeling afraid to ride in a self-driving car. One year later, a new AAA survey found that fear is unchanged.”

The evidence shows that awareness of self-driving cars was high [E1], but no item shows whether awareness had recently increased. No item asks when people expected deployment to begin: E2 concerns when most vehicles would be autonomous and was published after the judging date, and E3 concerns respondents' own likelihood of riding in one. So the evidence does not settle which case in the criteria applies.