Cars that drive themselves are quickly becoming a reality thanks to Google’s push: they are appearing on the roads of many cities. These cars — which don’t require a driver to navigate, stop, and follow traffic laws — are an exciting addition and could promise safer roads.
According to a recent article, a vast majority of accidents are a result of human error and the new technology in driverless cars could remove the poor judgment of human driver from the roads. However, human error isn’t the only cause of accidents.
Mechanical malfunction, breakdown, design flaws, defective parts, and severe weather are all possible causes of accidents that may result in serious or fatal personal injuries.
All of this problems listed above are difficult to avoid in any car, but add to the possibility of a hacked computer in a driverless car. A hacker could take control of the car, and if that happens there is no way to prevent a serious accident unless the hacker does so.
So, naturally, some questions are being raised about the security and liability of this new technology. How will states handle questions of insurance? Who is liable if an accident occurs that results in injury or death?
Will the driver still be responsible? Or will it be the car manufacturer or the software company be held responsible? Human error may be taken out of the equation very soon, but that doesn’t mean accidents won’t happen or that someone won’t be held responsible for them.
When your home computer crashes or has a glitch, you reboot or get a new one and no one is hurt in the process. But in the case of driverless cars controlled by computers, a malfunction could have a detrimental impact on people’s lives.
Computers may not drink or text and drive, but they aren’t perfect. If you are considering the purchase of a driverless car one day, be aware that there are still risks. And, if you are in an accident with a driverless car, contact a personal injury accident attorney as soon as possible.