Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Self-driving cars, touted as the next big step in global technology, are seen as the remedy to America’s highway traffic and safety woes. They are most likely to be road-ready by the year 2020 and it has been reported that the test car has already traversed 300,000 miles without causing any accident, triggering beliefs that the use of self-driving cars would minimize risks of road accidents thereby lowering government expenses.
Citation preview
Self-driving cars, touted as the next big step in global technology,are seen as the remedy to America’s highway traffic and safetywoes. They are most likely to be road-ready by the year 2020 andit has been reported that the test car has already traversed300,000 miles without causing any accident, triggering beliefs thatthe use of self-driving cars would minimize risks of road accidentsthereby lowering government expenses. In the wake of theoverwhelming rise in the number of accidents in different parts ofthe United States, the news comes as a huge relief.
In the year 2012, the number of crashes touched a whopping287,050 with around 75,000 of the victims sustaining some formof injury. There are around 30,000 people in the United States ofAmerica who die every year in car crashes and traffic congestionscosts the US Economy around 100 billion dollars a year, as perWinston’s research. There have been innumerable proposalsranging from reconstructing roads to retiming lights. However, thereported governmental under-investment on highway systems hasnecessitated the introduction of non-governmental solutions.
Self-Driving Cars: Can they Ensure Safety?
40 percent of these lethal accidents caused in the United States areowing to human errors including drunk-driving, fatigue,sleepiness, distraction, etc. Robot-driven wheels, on the otherhand, are likely to ensure better safety standards in that case.
There are others, however, who believe that there is no assurancethat these cars would help minimize the risks of road accidents asthere is still no written record or statistics to substantiate these
OPINION
SELF DRIVING CARS: HOWWILL THEY AFFECT AUTOACCIDENT LAWS?MARCH 22, 2014 | INJURY GUIDE | LEAVE A COMMENT
Injury Guide Pr i m ar y M enu
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
claims.
Kara Kockelman and Daniel Fagnant- the authors of Eno Reportfrom the University of Texas have presented an illustrative tally ofcar crash cost savings with the help of Autonomous or self-drivingcars:
Cost Savings onCrashes from Self-driving cars
90% 50% 10%
Live Saved (eachyear)
21,700 9,600 1,100
Fewer Crashes 4,220,000 1,880,000 211,000
Comprehensive CostSavings
$ 355.4 B $ 158.1 B $ 17.7 B
Economic CostSavings
$ 109.7 B $ 48.8 B $ 5.5 B
Comprehensive CostSavings per car
$ 3,100 $ 2,480 $ 1, 390
Economic CostSavings Per Car
$ 960 $ 770 $ 430
Will they Complicate Auto AccidentLaws?The cars, operated with the help of artificial intelligence, aredeemed as a huge problem in the realm of Personal Injury. Whathappens when a driver-less car is at fault (during a road accident)?
Some attorneys opine that it would be difficult to sue anautonomous car on grounds of negligence as it is somethingdetermined by the “prudent person standard”.There are others who argue that the person/persons who setthe controls of the car would be held responsible if the carcauses an accident. If it’s the manufacturer who set the controlsthen it’s a product defect.In case, the driver has fixed the controls (or operate the carhimself) then he can be sued for negligence in the wake of anaccident
ConclusionForbes reports that auto manufacturers are mulling the use ofsame radio spectrum that is used for Wi-Fi at present. This hasraised complications further, as it is presently speculated that theuse of this particular technology might hamper communicationbetween the car and the satellites, in case, someone else in thenearby area is busy with a heavy download on his PC.
Author Bio: A lex G. Tovarian has the experience of dealing withsome of the most complicated Personal Injury and EmploymentLaw cases in California. He is currently heading the Law Offices ofAlex G. Tovarian which has three set-ups in San Francisco, SanJose and Sacramento. To know more, please visit his site:www.agt-lawyers.com
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Related postsAre Driving Laws Enough to Deter Road Incidents?Top 3 Most Common Personal Injury ClaimsDistracted Driving Survey Shows 21% Surf Web at the WheelHow to Avoid Pedestrian Accidents5 Things to do if Involved in a Road Traffic Accident
PREVIOUS POST
Giving a Deposition: The Basics
LEAVE A REPLY
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbrtitle=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code><del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
POST COMMENT
Confirm you are NOT a spammer
DIRECTORY
Add Your Firm
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
RECENT POSTS
Self Driving Cars: How Will they Affect Auto Accident Laws?
Giving a Deposition: The Basics
Five Suggestions If You Think Your Job May Harm Long-Term Health
Medical Mistake: 5 Most Common Causes of Malpractice Suits
Learn how to Identify and Stop Elder Abuse
MARCH 2014
M T W T F S S
« Feb
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
RECENT COMMENTS
Shane on How Distractions Can Make Winter Driving Even More Dangerous
AltheaNicoleBreint on Wrongful Death: Avoidable Accidents
47
DIRECTORY
ATLANTA
AUSTIN
BOSTON
CHICAGO
COLUMBUS
DALLAS
DENVER
HOUSTON
INDIANAPOLIS
JACKSONVILLE
LOS ANGELES
NASHVILLE
NEW YORK
OKLAHOMA CITY
PHILADELPHIA
PHOENIX
RALEIGH
SACRAMENTO
SAINT PAUL
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
SAN ANTONIO
SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO
SAN JOSE
WASHINGTON
DIRECTORY
Add Your Firm
CATEGORIES
How-To's
Information
News
Opinion
Q&A
Copyright © 2014 Injury Guide
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
