This is an interesting point. It's in every self-driving vehicle company's best interest to gain public trust in the industry as a whole. A high pedestrian injury/fatality rate from Google's self-driving tech reduces confidence in Apple's tech and the entire idea of self-driving vehicles. The incentives are there for these companies to work together to create highly reliable self-driving tech.
I don't think this is completely true. If someone actually has a meaningful advantage in safety, it's in their best interest to publicize that and use it as a wedge between them and the competition. Bonus points if you can use the ensuing backlash of your competitors killing people to write regulations that lock them out of the market.
Not necessarily what is best for people, but I don't think their incentives are as aligned as you make it seem.
