I don't think it's useful to talk about global traffic deaths in this context. Since obviously regulation will change by country, the difficulty of developing self driving will change by country, and road safety varies enormously by country. The US is likely to get self-driving first, but is already way safer than the average country, and the countries where deaths are higher are less likely to be able to afford the roll out of self-driving cars.
In the US there are ~36,000 deaths from motorvehicle accidents.
To give some context, America could improve their fatality right by 5x by bringing themselves into line with the safety standards observed in Western Europe whose fatality rate is already at around 2.7 per 100,000 people.
It's also important to remember that self-driving is likely to represent the safest journeys - highway commutes etc.
In the US there are ~36,000 deaths from motorvehicle accidents.
To give some context, America could improve their fatality right by 5x by bringing themselves into line with the safety standards observed in Western Europe whose fatality rate is already at around 2.7 per 100,000 people.
It's also important to remember that self-driving is likely to represent the safest journeys - highway commutes etc.