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Comment by grej | Hacker News Reader

There are real legal questions on what happens when robotic cars are really ready. For instance, what happens IF the vehicle actually does have an accident? Who is liable? Is it the "driver" who wasn't actually controlling the car, or the company who wrote the driving software? There will be several hundred ambulance chasers ready to sign up victims of any accidents in order to get a class action suit against Google.

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While that's true, it's not as big a deal as you'd think if these cars are dramatically safer. Auto insurance is a 180 billion dollar industry in the US (that's a billion with a B). If the cars are actually safer, they will have dramatically lower insurance premiums, which will allow the manufacturer to charge more money for the car upfront and still come out ahead even if they assume lots of liability. People will find a way to make it work because there's just too much money to be made.

Short car insurance companies then? (Assuming their profit is some % of the total)

What is the rate of class action lawsuits against airliners and airplane manufacturers?

Good point! It could actually be that with lower accident rates robotic cars will produce, automobile insurance companies actually help drive the change.

There are very serious people working on this. The reality is there will be fewer accidents. Some people think think the manufacturers themselves will take on the insurance liability, eventually "disrupting" the auto insurance industry completely. Sure, there will be media hay made out if any accidents in the beginning. It's like anything. It will be hard to deny the safety of this mode of transportation. Actually, the most unsafe aspect about this will be combining human drivers on the road with efficient autonomous driving systems.

> For instance, what happens IF the vehicle actually does have an accident? Who is liable? Is it the "driver" who wasn't actually controlling the car, or the company who wrote the driving software?

Why would it be exclusive? If a vehicle actually has an accident with a driver, and owner who is not a driver, and a manufacturer, then, depending on the circumstances, it is possible for all three to have some degree of liability. With a robotic vehicle, there's really not that much difference.

"And existing product liability laws make it clear that a car’s manufacturer would be at fault if the car caused a crash, he said. He also said that when the inevitable accidents do occur, the data autonomous cars collect in order to navigate will provide a powerful and accurate picture of exactly who was responsible."

It shouldn't be much different than current legal cases where accidents are caused by mechanical or software failure.

I wonder if Google has considered this possibility at all.

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