Automatic and Semi-Automatic Cars and Insurance

Automatic and semi-automatic (also known as self-driving cars) are making a huge debut – both in the United States with the Google cars and also in the United Kingdom. Despite this great technological and automotive advancement, these cars find themselves in the midst of a haze of legal questions — questions which will only be answered as litigation regarding these cars reach the courts.

David Powell, non-marine manager at Lloyd Market Association in London, England, recently spoke to an audience of LMA’s underwriters and claim experts. He argued that “autonomous and semi-autonomous cars will fundamentally alter the nature of driving and the insurance industry’s business model. These vehicles mean fewer collisions, which will take place at lower speeds. Removing the driver removes eight out of ten of the most common causes of vehicle accidents. Self-driving cars will also trigger a decline in private car ownership while also creating new models of car ownership. Why own a car at all when you can simply command one to pick you up and drop you at your destination, with the efficiency and logistical benefits of self-driving cars meaning car travel will become much cheaper?”

Commenting on the liability implications, Powell said that the insurance issues are “fairly straightforward. The law says if you are in control, you are liable for any injuries or property damage you cause. So, if a vehicle cannot be driven by its occupant – for example, it has no steering wheel or controls – then it becomes a product liability issue.”

This is true. If it can be shown that the driver/occupant was not liable and that the fault was due to a product malfunction, then the manufacturer and not the driver may be held liable. But if it can be proven that the driver was in full control, then he or she may be found negligent as in any other car accident.

Powell also told the audience, “If the car can be driven, the driver will require insurance protection. Even if, at the moment of the crash, the occupant did not have his or her hands on the steering wheel, it would be very hard to argue that that person was not in control of the vehicle in the eyes of the law.”

Again, Powell is correct. Legally speaking, if you are in control of a self-driving vehicle that gets into an accident, you are liable for any damages that result – injuries, fatalities or otherwise. The problem for the law, however, is determining what control means. Does it mean sitting in the driver’s seat vs. actively steering? Or does it mean steering, controlling or commanding from a distance vs. being in the car? Another problem is determining how liability may need to be apportioned if it is argued that more than one person was in control (i.e. engineer and/or driver).

We’ve already discussed the fact that since the advent of their self-driving cars, Google cars have gotten themselves into quite a few accidents, some causing injury. They are still not as safe and fool-proof as their manufacturers would have you believe, and you can be sure that as long as these self-driving cars get into collisions, the weight of the law will not be far behind, driver control notwithstanding. If you have any questions, speak to a personal injury lawyer by booking a free consultation or calling 1-855-446-7765 for immediate assistance. You will also find some additional information in our accident section.