Fewer People Feel Comfortable Driving Self-Driving Cars
Many people look forward to seeing more self-driving cars on the road. However, there have been several accidents reported involving self-driving cars. This has caused many to lose trust in self-driving cars. In fact, 75 percent of people have stated that they are afraid to drive a self-driving car. Sixty-three percent of people were afraid to drive a self-driving car in 2017.
Serious Accidents Involving Self-Driving Cars
In March 2018, self-driving cars received a lot of negative attention after a woman in Arizona was killed by one of them. A car hit and killed the woman instantly. The accident occurred because the car did not sense that the woman was in front of it. A few weeks later, a self-driving car in California caught on fire. This resulted in the death of the driver.
Who is to Blame for Accidents Involving Self-Driving Cars?
There are multiple people who may be held responsible for an accident involving a self-driving car. In some cases, the person who was in the car may be held responsible. In 2016, Joshua Brown from Canton, Ohio was the first person to be killed in a self-driving car accident.
He turned on the autopilot mode. The accident occurred when the car did not sense a tractor-trailer in front of it. As a result of this, the car did not apply the brakes, and the car slammed into the tractor trailer.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruled that car’s auto pilot system was not at fault. They stated that the driver was the one who caused the accident that lead to his death. They stated that if the driver would have been paying attention, then the accident would have not occurred because he would have seen the tractor trailer. The NHTSA stated that autopilot system is not designed to replace a human driver. They also stated that humans cannot leave all of the driving responsibility to the car.
The company that made the car may be held responsible for a self-driving accident. The fleet owner may also be held responsible if the car is a part of a fleet company such as Lyft or Uber. Thorough investigations will be required in the future.