AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE
Keith Laing Technology Journalist Bloomberg
Self-driving cars pose a crucial question: Who to blame in a crash?
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debate over who to blame or sue when a selfdriven car hits someone is holding up legislation the industry says it needs to advance. “If another driver hits you, it’s clear who the driver is," Sarah Rooney, senior director of federal and regulatory affairs for the American Association for Justice, said. “It’s the human being.“ Not so when a fully self-driving car hits another vehicle or a pedestrian. Then the fault may lie with the manufacturer and the software, or with the owner if updates have not been properly installed. And if the manufacturer is as fault, a victim may seek to sue under product liability standards, as with a conventional car. The vehicles are still in the beta stage but the issues have held up legislation that would allow carmakers to test and sell tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles, something the industry says it needs to fully develop and eventually market the technology to consumers. A bill to do that sailed through the House several years ago but has been bogged down in the Senate over the liability question.
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URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MAY 2021
A move to merge the bill with must-pass legislation earlier this month faltered over an initiative by some manufacturers to include language that would prevent consumers from suing or forming class-action cases. Instead, the consumers would have to submit disputes to binding arbitration, something that is common with technology products but not automobiles. That idea faced resistance from safety groups and trial lawyers, who are influential among Senate Democrats. The measure was pulled on the eve of a committee vote and supporters say they are still working to address the liability issue in the hopes of moving the legislation forward this year.
Uber Crash A handful of crashes involving Tesla Inc. vehicles with human drivers utilizing the company’s Autopilot system, as well as the death of a pedestrian struck by an Uber Technologies Inc. self-driving test car in 2018, has focused attention on the issue of liability on vehicles now under development that have no steering wheels, gas pedals or other accommodation for human drivers. Rooney, whose group represents trial lawyers who oppose limits on lawsuits, said liability issues will have to be worked out before any legislation authorizing the use of more automated vehicles on U.S. roads should proceed. A group of 15 consumer advocacy groups including Rooney’s association wrote a letter on May 17 to leaders on the House Energy and Commerce’s consumer protection subcommittee opposing mandatory arbitration. They expressed concern that automated vehicles may someday be operated by Uber or other companies and come with clauses to their terms of service.
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