Self-driving vehicles, also called automated vehicles, are already on our roads. Self-driving vehicles rely on technology to control and operate the vehicle. In recent years, we have all read and heard of accidents involving self-driving vehicles, causing injuries and even death. This raises issues with regard to the safety of these vehicles. It also raises serious issues as to what lawyers call “Liability.”
Until recently, if there was an accident involving a vehicle, the question was: Was the driver negligent, and did that negligence cause an injury? However, if a self-driving vehicle is involved in an accident, who is responsible, or who is liable?
In New York City, the owner of a vehicle need only carry $25,000 in automobile liability insurance coverage for injuries caused to an injured passenger in the vehicle, to the driver or passenger of another vehicle, or to a pedestrian. If the vehicle is one used for hire, such as a taxi, then the required automobile liability insurance coverage is raised to $100,000 for an injured person. See 35 Rules of the City of New York § 1-40(d).
Under New York Law, the owner of the vehicle is responsible if the driver is authorized to drive that vehicle, even if the driver is not performing a task for the owner of the vehicle; See Motor Vehicle & Vehicle & Traffic Law §388.
Uber and Lyft usually do not own their vehicles, The vehicles are owned by the drivers. Very rich people do not drive Uber and Lyft; the drivers have rather limited assets.
It is my belief that commercial firms such as Uber and Lyft, who have very substantial assets, should be deemed by law to be the owners of the vehicles so that no matter who the driver of the vehicle is, particularly if it is a self-automated vehicle, Uber and/or Lyft will be responsible.
It is easy to see in today’s world that both $25,000 and even $100,000 are not sufficient to cover most injuries caused by any serious vehicle accident. Unfortunately, insurance companies have effectively lobbied to keep these insurance requirements at these low levels so as to limit their payouts for serious accidents.
Before automated vehicles took over some or all of the tasks involved in operating a vehicle, there was no question as to who was operating the vehicle- the person in the driver’s seat was the “driver”. If there was an accident, the driver was questioned to see if the driver was somehow negligent in causing the accident. However, if a self-driving automated vehicle is involved in an accident, who was the legal “driver”? This question becomes even more interesting with the totally automated self-driving vehicles that are now starting to be used without anyone in the driver’s seat.
As reported in an article in Fortune magazine: “During a call with investors and analysts on January 29, 2025, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company is on course to reap immense gains in the coming years due to its development of autonomy. In fact, he said Tesla’s full self-driving (FSD) feature has advanced so profoundly in its development that drivers are turning the feature off so they don’t get hit with a series of annoying beeps for removing their hands from the steering wheel.
“Right now, there is this perverse situation where people actually go to manual driving to check their text messages so the computer doesn’t yell at them,” said Musk. Drivers turn off autopilot, he claimed, and steer with their knees so they can read emails and texts.”
Since there are many levels of automated vehicles, the question of who the “driver” is becomes more complicated. If there is a person in the driver’s seat and just some of the vehicles’ functioning was being controlled automatically without the driver’s input, in the event of an accident, who was the driver?
When considering the fact that in addition to cars used for personal use there are already taxis, buses, and trucks on our roads that are automated vehicles to some degree. Some automated vehicles still require a driver to be in the driver’s seat. However, we are already seeing automated vehicles that can, and do, operate without a driver in the vehicle (for a laugh and a look into the future, see the YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel, “Greatest Aunt Chippy Prank EVER”)
Ride-sharing companies such as Waymo, Cruise, Uber, and Lyft are already using or will soon be using fully self-driving vehicles.
So, who is responsible if there is an accident involving an automated vehicle? There are many possibilities, including The creator of the technology, the software developer, the designer, the manufacturer, and the retailer. There are also often many companies that may have been involved in the production of the vehicle.
If there was an actual driver in the driver’s seat, then additional questions are raised: Was the driver actually operating the vehicle, and was the driver the cause of the accident, or was it the technology or sensors that were at fault?
Because of the issues raised and the fact that the law must change and keep up with the technology if you are in an accident, it is important to retain a law firm that is aware of all of these issues and has the experience to deal with them.
If you have any questions, please contact me at ajaros@lawjaros.com.
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