An inattentive driver killing a pedestrian isn't typically treated as criminal, as far as I know. As a pedestrian and a driver, I have mixed feelings about this.
In Australia for example if you are using your phone and kill someone you absolutely will be seeing jail time.
It's usually, though exact standards vary, vehicular homicide if there is criminal negligence, which can include inattention while driving especially if it results in a citable (on its own, before considering the fatality) violation of a traffic mandate that causes then fatality.
My... My understanding was that you can totally have this be treated as criminal but that most families don't want to press charges? Because, well, all of it sucks.
With "no fault" investigations, the engineers work with the investigators to identify and fix the problems. The result is a lot better than the adversarial system.
If that driver hadn’t been in a self driving car, they’d clearly be going to jail for looking at their phone while driving.
Everyone cooperated with the investigation. The mechanics were not criminally charged. The procedures were changed so it wouldn't happen again.
Under your proposal, the shop would have had every incentive to alter records, deny, obfuscate, and in general impede finding the truth as much as possible. Do you think that would have been better?
I know of no cases where mechanics, engineers, air traffic controllers, regulators or pilots were criminally charged in a fatal accident. The result is we have incredibly safe air travel. I don't know about you, but I'm happy about that result.
This is a great case to read up on. The testimony from experts in this case was top notch.
I believe the criminal charges in the case were related to the degree of deception Toyota engaged in with regards to unintended acceleration in their vehicles.
edit: Someone did a case study: https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/pubs/koopman14_toyota_ua_...
You mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2%80%9311_Toyota_vehicle... ?
> The most common problem was drivers hitting the accelerator pedal when they thought they were hitting the brake, which the NHTSA called "pedal misapplication.” Of the 58 cases reported, 18 were dismissed out of hand. Of the remaining 40, 39 of them were found to have no cause; the remainder being an instance of “pedal entrapment.”
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_unintended_acceleration...
[2]http://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/toyota-unintende...
But the NHTSA's 10-month investigation beginning in 2010 when Toyota had already informed them of the sticky pedals came to the conclusion that zero of the reported cases of unintended acceleration involved sticky pedals.
That's a case for lying to the government, and we see a judgment against Toyota for lying to the government. How is it a case for unintended acceleration?
They certainly should be treated like a criminal. They used a deadly weapon to kill someone because they didn’t respect their responsibility.
Software engineering might be a better profession to work in if it was regulated the same way other engineering fields are.
Even then, it seems like many states require "gross" negligence, like speeding or intoxication to charge with a crime. Someone who simply "didn't see the pedestrian" but was otherwise following the law will likely not be charged with a crime. They'll get sued, of course.