Self-driving Vehicles: Many Issues yet to be resolved

Rarely before has an invention held the potential to revolutionize the safety of operating a motor vehicle, as have self-driving automobiles. Of all the benefits of the new self-driving technology, including fewer traffic jams and less pollution, the safety benefits are of particular interest because most car accidents are due to human error or carelessness.  Some experts in the field of auto safety estimate that once perfected, self-driving vehicles could reduce the roughly 110,000 motor vehicle accidents (including about 150,000 injuries) that occur annually in Canada by as much as 90%. Most self-driving vehicles, including self-driving trucks and buses, are being designed with safety at the forefront and are in the testing phase. Several states, including California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada, have made it legal for automobile manufacturers to begin testing self-driving vehicles.

The emergence of this exciting new technology has, however, not been without problems. Auto manufacturer Tesla admitted that it had its first self-driving fatality in the Model S with autopilot activated. Joshua D. Brown died on May 7, 2016 in Williston, Florida when the Tesla Model S he was driving smashed into a mobile home and then into a telephone pole. He was playing a video game to illustrate the "hands-free" operation of the vehicle when the accident happened. The crash is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States and the entire world eagerly awaits the results of the accident's inquiry.

Liability for Personal Injury

Self-driving motor vehicles raise a number of legal questions involving the liability of the manufacturer of the vehicle, driver and others, if an autonomous vehicle is involved in a traffic accident. In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties that may be held liable in an autonomous vehicle collision include the manufacturer of a component part in the vehicle's autonomous system, the company that wrote the software used in the autonomous system, and the "smart road" manufacturers including the municipality where the accident occurred. Local governments could be required to keep their highways clean and well-marked so that an autonomous vehicle can accurately navigate the required markers. And all this does not even touch on the potential for catastrophic accidents due to inclement weather or unforeseen natural events.

There is also concern that an autonomous vehicle could have its operating system "hacked" into by criminals and the vehicle's controls commandeered. A vehicle's computer system can now be hacked remotely, but the potential for catastrophe is multiplied exponentially when the entire vehicle relies on a computer. Some speculate that a check of your vehicle's computer operating system could become the focus of your routine annual automobile inspection.

Canada has taken a "wait and see" approach to permitting testing of the new vehicles on Canadian roads and highways until amendments can be made to regulations including the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.  According to a CBC News report on Oct 13, 2015, Self-driving cars to be tested on Ontario Roads, Ontario's Minister of Transportation, Steven del Duca announced in a speech at the University of Waterloo, that Ontario will be the first province to test self-driving cars although admittedly, self-driving cars are not yet as safe as humans.  Minister Del Duca further stated that there are clear benefits of adopting automated vehicle innovation but, "In order to compete, Ontario needs to be consistent with the approach of U.S. jursidictions."

In the meantime, interested Canadians are awaiting the results of the inquiry into the Joshua D. Brown accident and the negligence, product liability and wrongful death issues that are yet to be resolved. Also, many Canadians are wondering both whether they will feel entirely safe driving an autonomous vehicle and how soon self-driving cars will be generally available.  With the anticipated reduced risk of motor vehicle accidents for automomous vehicles, the method of calculating insurance premiums will be expected to change, however, the changes will likely come slowly as insurers gather information about factors involved in the decreased risk of collisions and how to properly apportion liability.