Who's to Blame When a Driverless Car Has an Accident?

[RicInOR]

I can't figure it out.....

UBER is not a taxi cab service and not subject to local taxi cab regulations. Yet drivers (through UBER) pick up "customers" and charge a fee to get from point A to point B.

Is it because....."customers" are "friends?" And thus, regulating such a private deal is NOT within the purview of taxi cab and/or most any other regulators/regulations?

Someone, clue me in. If they're playing with words.....then IMHO.....it's a sham.

Shades of the, you're not an employee....you're a 1099 independent contract worker, B.S. Mind you that I'm not saying that an UBER driver isn't self employed (with alot of help from UBER).

Aloha, Mark

NY Taxi medallions went for over 1.25 million. each.

one of them recently killed himself blaming Uber competition.

Personally I think the cab companies should demand all their money back - every medallion, license, training, all of it.

but that is a whole different thing.



- hmmmm -- will a self driving uber take you to a gun range?

 

[justcuz]

I saw the vehicle's recording of the passenger inside the car right before the street crosser was hit & she was horrified--There was no time to hit the brakes before the woman was run down in the street. People have been getting run over in the street since humans have had streets

by chariots too - say what?

 

[Medic!]

I heard the car blew a 2.4 just after the accident.
They found 10% Alcohol in the tank.

 

[elsie]

Honestly, there are no "driverless" vehicles except the dumb one that are rolling while unoccupied. With this particular new technology, the "driver" is the guidance system that was placed in the car by the manufacturer. Which brings up an interesting issue regarding liability and requiring insurance. If I'm not driving then I should need insurance except at my discretion and it would be in addition to the "drivers" insurance.


elsie

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

I heard the car blew a 2.4 just after the accident.
They found 10% Alcohol in the tank.

lord help us if its an e85 vehicle

 

[billdeserthills]

The victim was obviously jaywalking--
the street is not a safe place for pedestrians & normal people know that

 

[ATCclears]

A March 21, 2018 article in the WSJ. A snippet is below since it may be paid content.

Insurers Race to Develop Coverage for Driverless Cars

"They are competitors, so understandably they often don't talk publicly about this, but we do know insurance companies are engaged with developers, trying to help them reduce their liability exposure," said Jim Whittle, associate general counsel for the American Insurance Association, a lobbying group representing some of the nation's biggest property-casualty insurers.

Those possibly at fault for accidents: vehicle owners, manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and even data providers.

The shift from personal liability is also an opportunity for many of the nation's biggest insurers eager to get in on the action of insuring autonomous vehicles.

"While insurance coverage for (autonomous vehicles) is not mainstream, there are companies that will provide policies," said Maureen Brown, a vice president with Munich Reinsurance America Inc.

Munich Re does insure some "entities that are researching, testing, or developing hardware or software designed to move autonomous vehicle technology forward," according to the firm.

As control of vehicles gradually moves from people to computers, exactly how the liability will shift remains to be determined, insurance brokers say. Uncertainties abound as to how autonomous vehicles will perform on roads with manually operated vehicles, among other things.