Self-driving car liability

Part of a series on
Self-driving cars & self-driving vehicles
Enablers
Assured clear distance ahead Autonomous racing Datasets History Impact Lane centering Pedestrian crash avoidance mitigation Vehicle infrastructure integration
Topics
Automatic parking Platoon Regulation Liability Robotaxi Self-driving truck Tunnel problem
Related topics
Automatic train operation Unmanned surface vehicle Vehicular automation
v t e

Increases in the use of autonomous car technologies (e.g., advanced driver-assistance systems) are causing incremental shifts in the responsibility of driving, with the primary motivation of reducing the frequency of traffic collisions.^[1] Liability for incidents involving self-driving cars is a developing area of law and policy that will determine who is liable when a car causes physical damage to persons or property.^[2] As autonomous cars shift the responsibility of driving from humans to autonomous car technology, there is a need for existing liability laws to evolve to reasonably identify the appropriate remedies for damage and injury.^[3] As higher levels of autonomy are commercially introduced (SAE automation levels 3 and 4), the insurance industry stands to see higher proportions of commercial and product liability lines of business, while the personal automobile insurance line of business shrinks.^[4]

Self-driving car liability and self-driving vehicle liability may be impacted by changes in regulation of self-driving vehicles being developing in some countries.