Driverless cars may sound like a great idea, but what is the rate at which they get into car accidents and do they get into car accidents as frequently as cars with drivers? Public interest groups have asked these very questions and have demanded that Google release its statistics with regards to the rate at which their driverless cars get into accidents.
Yes, Google has self-driving cars. The two-seated prototypes are equipped with removable steering wheels, brake pedals and accelerator pedals so test engineers can take over driving if needed. Google plans to have them on the roads in California this summer.
In response to the demands of consumer interest groups, Google has promised to release data regarding its cars on a monthly basis. So far, their May report shows the car had been involved in an average of 12 accidents since Google first began testing in 2009, mostly involving rear-end collisions. Consumer Watchdog, one of the public interest groups that have probed for more information, attributed this to the fact that Google cars vehicles tend to stop more quickly than human drivers expect.
Google alleges that none of these accidents are through the fault of the car.
When assessing damages, fault, injury and causation are always taken into account. If an automobile maker like Google can demonstrate that an accident is not a direct result of the fault of its car, then the fault of the driver and perhaps other factors will be taken into consideration. But what happens when a car has no driver? It could be that fault will be apportioned between the test engineer of the car or the manufacturer itself. It will be interesting to see how the courts determine who is at fault when a driverless car is at issue.
If you are involved in an accident, speak to an accident lawyer to protect your rights.
Source: https://ca.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idCAKBN0OL2D120150605