Uber is restarting tests of self-driving cars, three days after pausing the program following a crash of one of its vehicles.

The crash, which took place in Arizona, likely is not helping change consumers' already dim view of the safety of self-driving vehicles.

A few weeks ago, AAA released survey results showing three out of four U.S. drivers are afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle.

"What Americans may not realize is that the building blocks towards self-driving cars are already in today’s vehicles and the technology is constantly improving and well-trusted by those who have experienced it," said John Nielsen, AAA's managing director of automotive engineering and repair, in a statement.

To develop safe cars, companies need to test them on public roads. Doing so means there will be accidents, even ones that are not the fault of the self-driving systems. This is a technology problem and an image problem that could become mutually reinforcing, and probably leads auto executives to reach for the antacid.