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Who Is Liable When a Self-Driving Car Crashes?

Posted by Unknown on from the werecar-had-too-much-to-drink dept.

innocent_white_lamb writes "Current laws make the driver of a car responsible for any mayhem caused by that vehicle. But what happens when there is no driver? This article argues that the dream of a self-driving car is futile since the law requires that the driver is responsible for the operation of the vehicle. Therefore, even if a car is self-driving, you as the driver must stay alert and pay attention. No texting, no reading, no snoozing. So what's the point of a self-driving car if you can't relax or do something else while 'driving?'"

6 of 937 comments (clear)

  1. Efficiency. by lifewarped · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A self driving car would be less likely to rubberneck, or cause other issues relating to a human driver. Cars could in theory go faster. etc.

    1. Re:Efficiency. by amicusNYCL · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Think of all the problems it could solve though. For example, oblivious drivers shoulder to shoulder going the same speed and not letting anyone else pass. If the cars were autonomous then they could simply tell each other to move over. I would love to have that ability now. Lane speed could also be regulated. If you wanted your car to drive slower then it would stay in the farther right lanes. If your car was being passed on the right, then it would keep moving over until no one is passing it on the right. It would be great if humans did that today, which is the cause for most of the slowdown that I see on the highways.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    2. Re:Efficiency. by cdrudge · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Efficiency can have multiple meanings. You're talking about maximizing mileage for the fuel used. What if we're talking about getting you from point A to point B the fastest possible to efficiently minimize your travel time and maximize your time at the destination? Or if the self-driving car is a taxi, for delivering one fare and picking up another, balancing fuel economy, fare rates, and fare availability, "efficiently" maximizing revenue while minimizing idle time.

  2. Safety by adamstew · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would think the point would be that machines, once properly programmed, can be the worlds safest drivers...statistically. You, as a human, will still be responsible for taking over when the machine doesn't know what to do. But, for the other 99.5% of the time, the self-driving car will make the best decisions and always be completely alert.

    Self-Driving cars, I believe, have the ability to drastically reduce deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents...one of the highest causes of death in the USA.

  3. laws change by MozeeToby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Current law not appropriate for future technology! News at 11!

  4. Re:Boring Drive by danlip · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not to mention that people who have been using self-driving cars all their life will have 99% less driving experience. They will basically all be student drivers, but without a teacher in the car when something goes wrong.