As self-driving technology continues to be developed, safety concerns begin to rise. Currently, companies such as Uber have been attempting to advance motor vehicles and transportation technology to include the testing of autonomous cars.
Autonomous cars are cars that drive themselves. They are also referred to as self-driving cars. These cars are operated and controlled by computer systems designed to determine appropriate travel routes and accident avoidance through the use of sensors and cameras. Liability concerns increase as technology advances. Who is responsible if a self-driving car gets into a car crash?
The technology of self-driving cars is an opportunity to assist people such as the elderly or disabled to travel more easily as needed. It is also thought that self-driving cars can decrease death rates among young people caused by car crashes. Driving accidents cause over 1.5 million deaths each year.
Uber has been testing self-driving cars in Pennsylvania and Arizona. Uber attempted to test the self-driving vehicles in San Francisco; however, the California Department of Motor Vehicles banned the testing of this technology. “The focus on self-driving cars was intended to demonstrate Uber’s progress with the nascent technology, and it began picking up customers in Tempe last month after Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a proponent of self-driving cars, took the inaugural ride.”
The advancement of this technology does not come without some negative consequences. Self-driving cars may be better at avoiding crashes, but they are not insusceptible to being involved in them. One Uber test ride in Arizona proves this. A self-driving SUV being tested by Uber was involved in a high-impact crash that caused the autonomous SUV to flip over on its side. Because of this crash, Uber has halted the testing of autonomous cars.
As it turns out, in the Arizona Uber autonomous car crash, the high-impact crash was found to be the fault of another vehicle. Still, liability concerns arise from such an event.
Regardless of who was at fault, liability issues and concerns from new technologies such as this can cause changes in how insurance companies will handle or cover claims involving these self-driving cars.
The attorneys at the Alexander Law Group, LLP believe in empowering Americans. That’s why we represent individuals who have been badly injured in accidents. If you need legal after you were involved in a car crash, contact the attorneys at Alexander Law Group, LLP at 888.777.1776 for a free case consultation.
