Who’s to blame when driverless cars have an accident?

The news that an Uber self-driving vehicle has killed a pedestrian in the US has made headlines around the world.

Autonomous vehicles are information-rich platforms
thanks to the range of sensors on board that track,
monitor and measure everything.

It’s a reminder that the era of self-driving cars is fast approaching. Decades of research into advanced sensors, mapping, navigation and control methods have now come to fruition and autonomous cars are starting to hit the roads in pilot trials.

But partial or full autonomy raises the question of who is to blame in the case of an accident involving a self-driving car? In conventional (human-driven) cars, the answer is simple: the driver is responsible because they are in control. When it comes to autonomous vehicles, it isn’t so clear cut.

Read the CSIRO blog - “Who’s to blame when driverless cars have an accident?”

(We managed to resolve the legal intricacies surrounding the activities, and accidents, involving millions privately owned, individually driven cars and so a self-driving vehicle should not be too complex, just different - Robert McLean)