Injury Guide

Pr i m ar y M enu

OPINION

SELF DRIVING CARS: HOW WILL THEY AFFECT AUTO ACCIDENT LAWS?
MARCH 22, 2014 | INJURY GUIDE | LEAVE A COMMENT

Self-driving cars, touted as the next big step in global technology, are seen as the remedy to Americas highway traffic and safety woes. They are most likely to be road-ready by the year 2020 and it has been reported that the test car has already traversed 300,000 miles without causing any accident, triggering beliefs that the use of self-driving cars would minimize risks of road accidents thereby lowering government expenses. In the wake of the overwhelming rise in the number of accidents in different parts of the United States, the news comes as a huge relief. In the year 2012, the number of crashes touched a whopping 287,050 with around 75,000 of the victims sustaining some form of injury. There are around 30,000 people in the United States of America who die every year in car crashes and traffic congestions costs the US Economy around 100 billion dollars a year, as per Winstons research. There have been innumerable proposals ranging from reconstructing roads to retiming lights. However, the reported governmental under-investment on highway systems has necessitated the introduction of non-governmental solutions. Self-Driving Cars: Can they Ensure Safety? 40 percent of these lethal accidents caused in the United States are owing to human errors including drunk-driving, fatigue, sleepiness, distraction, etc. Robot-driven wheels, on the other hand, are likely to ensure better safety standards in that case. There are others, however, who believe that there is no assurance that these cars would help minimize the risks of road accidents as there is still no written record or statistics to substantiate these
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

claims. Kara Kockelman and Daniel Fagnant- the authors of Eno Report from the University of Texas have presented an illustrative tally of car crash cost savings with the help of Autonomous or self-driving cars:
Cost Savings on Crashes from Selfdriving cars Live Saved (each year) Fewer Crashes Comprehensive Cost Savings Economic Cost Savings Comprehensive Cost Savings per car Economic Cost Savings Per Car 90% 50% 10%

21,700 4,220,000 $ 355.4 B $ 109.7 B $ 3,100 $ 960

9,600 1,880,000 $ 158.1 B $ 48.8 B $ 2,480 $ 770

1,100 211,000 $ 17.7 B $ 5.5 B $ 1, 390 $ 430

Will they Complicate Auto Accident Laws?

The cars, operated with the help of artificial intelligence, are deemed as a huge problem in the realm of Personal Injury. What happens when a driver-less car is at fault (during a road accident)? Some attorneys opine that it would be difficult to sue an autonomous car on grounds of negligence as it is something determined by the prudent person standard. There are others who argue that the person/persons who set the controls of the car would be held responsible if the car causes an accident. If its the manufacturer who set the controls then its a product defect. In case, the driver has fixed the controls (or operate the car himself) then he can be sued for negligence in the wake of an accident

Conclusion
Forbes reports that auto manufacturers are mulling the use of same radio spectrum that is used for Wi-Fi at present. This has raised complications further, as it is presently speculated that the use of this particular technology might hamper communication between the car and the satellites, in case, someone else in the nearby area is busy with a heavy download on his PC. Author Bio: Alex G. Tovarian has the experience of dealing with some of the most complicated Personal Injury and Employment Law cases in California. He is currently heading the Law Offices of Alex G. Tovarian which has three set-ups in San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento. To know more, please visit his site: www.agt-lawyers.com

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Related posts
Are Driving Laws Enough to Deter Road Incidents? Top 3 Most Common Personal Injury Claims Distracted Driving Survey Shows 21% Surf Web at the Wheel How to Avoid Pedestrian Accidents 5 Things to do if Involved in a Road Traffic Accident

PREVIOUS POST

Giving a Deposition: The Basics

LEAVE A REPLY
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

Comment

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr

title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

POST COMMENT

Confirm you are NOT a spammer

DIRECTORY Add Your Firm

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

RECENT POSTS Self Driving Cars: How Will they Affect Auto Accident Laws? Giving a Deposition: The Basics Five Suggestions If You Think Your Job May Harm Long-Term Health Medical Mistake: 5 Most Common Causes of Malpractice Suits Learn how to Identify and Stop Elder Abuse

MARCH 2014 M T W T F S 1 3 10 17 24 31 Feb 4 11 18 25 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28 8 15 22 29 S 2 9 16 23 30

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

RECENT COMMENTS Shane on How Distractions Can Make Winter Driving Even More Dangerous AltheaNicoleBreint on Wrongful Death: Avoidable Accidents

47

DIRECTORY ATLANTA AUSTIN BOSTON CHICAGO COLUMBUS DALLAS DENVER HOUSTON INDIANAPOLIS JACKSONVILLE LOS ANGELES NASHVILLE NEW YORK OKLAHOMA CITY PHILADELPHIA PHOENIX RALEIGH SACRAMENTO SAINT PAUL

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

SAN ANTONIO SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SAN JOSE W ASHINGTON

DIRECTORY Add Your Firm

CATEGORIES How-To's Information News Opinion Q&A

Copyright 2014 Injury Guide

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com