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That covers fleets, where maintenance can be strictly done according to the manufacturer's recommended schedule. Therefore, the only remaining entity that can b

That covers fleets, where maintenance can be strictly done according to the manufacturer's recommended schedule. Therefore, the only remaining entity that can be liable is the manufacturer. Individually owned vehicles are not necessarily maintained to schedule. I would bet that a large percentage don't receive much attention at all, other than oil and filter, unless something goes wrong. Therefore, personal liability won't entirely go away.

toomuchtodo 11y ago
The insurance I speak of is liability and property damage. Its not related to maintenance.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- koenigdavidmj 11y ago
  For a self-driving car, programmed to follow traffic laws to the letter, an at-fault collision indicates a problem with the vehicle, either caused by a manufacturer defect (which includes software bugs) or by maintenance negligence by the owner. If an owner of a vehicle maintains it to the recommendations of the manufacturer, then any breakdowns also become manufacturer defects. If a company owns a fleet of vehicles, and maintains them according to the manufacturer's recommendations, it is now impossible for them to be liable. A collision is always either the fault of the manufacturer or of another vehicle. Therefore, the owner of the vehicles need not have insurance. (This is not the current legal situation, but I expect that it would be in a few years.) An individual person who owns a self-driving car would have exactly the same situation as above, provided they maintain the car to the recommended standard. In an attempt to deny a claim, the manufacturer would have the ability to argue that the vehicle was not maintained to standard, in which case the person would be liable for the results of that negligence.
  - ams6110 11y ago
    Random failures will still occur, even if the vehicle is properly maintained and through no inherent flaw in the vehicle. No system is perfect.
    - ghaff 11y ago
      No, but in general, failures of a machine that result in serious injury or fatality routinely result in lawsuits against the manufacturer. See GM ignition switches. Pharmaceuticals are probably the closest thing to an exception but drug interactions can result in lawsuits as well.
  - maxerickson 11y ago
    Or the system for determining fault could be flawed. It would certainly be a legal problem for the manufacturer, but it doesn't necessarily point to a fault in the autonomous driving system. I sort of expect that licensing for autonomous systems will in fact be fuzzy and require operators to cover liability, not require manufacturers to make flawless systems (whatever that would mean).

toomuchtodo 11y ago

The insurance I speak of is liability and property damage. Its not related to maintenance.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
koenigdavidmj 11y ago
For a self-driving car, programmed to follow traffic laws to the letter, an at-fault collision indicates a problem with the vehicle, either caused by a manufacturer defect (which includes software bugs) or by maintenance negligence by the owner. If an owner of a vehicle maintains it to the recommendations of the manufacturer, then any breakdowns also become manufacturer defects. If a company owns a fleet of vehicles, and maintains them according to the manufacturer's recommendations, it is now impossible for them to be liable. A collision is always either the fault of the manufacturer or of another vehicle. Therefore, the owner of the vehicles need not have insurance. (This is not the current legal situation, but I expect that it would be in a few years.) An individual person who owns a self-driving car would have exactly the same situation as above, provided they maintain the car to the recommended standard. In an attempt to deny a claim, the manufacturer would have the ability to argue that the vehicle was not maintained to standard, in which case the person would be liable for the results of that negligence.
- ams6110 11y ago
  Random failures will still occur, even if the vehicle is properly maintained and through no inherent flaw in the vehicle. No system is perfect.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    No, but in general, failures of a machine that result in serious injury or fatality routinely result in lawsuits against the manufacturer. See GM ignition switches. Pharmaceuticals are probably the closest thing to an exception but drug interactions can result in lawsuits as well.
- maxerickson 11y ago
  Or the system for determining fault could be flawed. It would certainly be a legal problem for the manufacturer, but it doesn't necessarily point to a fault in the autonomous driving system. I sort of expect that licensing for autonomous systems will in fact be fuzzy and require operators to cover liability, not require manufacturers to make flawless systems (whatever that would mean).