Driverless cars are not a new concept. However, taxis and rideshare companies have recently added self-driving cars for passengers to travel from one location to the next. It’s inevitable that accidents will happen with more autonomous vehicles on the road.
Are there any driverless taxis or rideshare vehicles?
In recent years, ride-sharing and driverless taxis have grown in popularity just like driverless cars. Waymo and Cruise are leading the charge in this industry by offering taxi services to those living in cities such as San Francisco and Phoenix.
These companies used to have drivers who could be called upon in case of an emergency. Driverless cars had to have someone in the driver’s chair to alert them to any potentially dangerous situations. For example, if the vehicle doesn’t seem to be going to stop for pedestrians, the driver can hit the brakes.
Are driverless cars dangerous?
While car manufacturers have long proclaimed their autonomous cars to be safe there are still questions about the safety of having no human at the wheel.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), requires auto manufacturers to report any accidents involving autonomous vehicles with Level 2 or higher (partial automation) advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). This data can be used to create safety information, regulations and education.
- The NHTSA reports that 392 accidents involving self-driving vehicles occurred between July 1, 2021 and May 15, 2022. 70% of these were Tesla cars that used either Tesla Autopilot (Tesla’s driver-assistance system), or Tesla’s full self-driving beta system.
- The Honda cars were involved in 90 of the other crashes, while Subaru cars were involved in 10 of them. Other cars involved in collisions were made by Volkswagen, GM Toyota, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
- Some self-driving car accident victims (around 100) suffered injuries. 11 of the seriously injured suffered and 5 were killed in crashes .
- Tesla and other companies claim that their driverless cars are safer than vehicles that have a human operator. However, Tesla will need more data to verify these claims.
What are the consequences of accidents involving driverless vehicles?
Investigating two fatal accidents involving autonomous Tesla cars is currently underway. Two people were killed in a California car accident in 2019 that involved a Tesla Model S sedan and a Honda Civic.
The Tesla driver was accused of vehicular manslaughter. This is a felony. The NHTSA stated that the Tesla Autopilot mode was being used at the time of the accident.
A law professor and expert on autonomous cars who was consulted in this case said that features such as Tesla Autopilot shouldn’t replace human drivers and that Tesla should be held responsible for the deaths of the victims.
Who is liable for a driverless taxi accident?
California is considered a “fault state”, meaning that the person deemed to be at fault in an accident is responsible for any damages. If both drivers are at fault in an accident, one party would be responsible for the damages. However, damages would be lessened if the other driver is more at fault.
Summarized from an article by MVP Accident Attorneys.
