Today's automated or self-driving cars are changing the rules of the road, especially when it comes to figuring out who's at fault in car accidents. Now that there are many cars on the road that can drive themselves, it's quite hard to tell who should be responsible when something goes wrong. 

These situations are making lawmakers, car makers, and drivers rethink how accident liability can be assigned. Take these insights home to at least guide you should you encounter these challenges in the future.

Automated Vehicle Technology: Retooling the Rules of the Road

Who Pays When a Bot Causes a Fender Bender?

When a self-driving car taps another car's bumper, the question of who pays can get tricky. Say the car's software messes up and causes the crash; is that an act of god or man? 

Expert car accident lawyers could argue that the maker of the car or its software might be to blame, not the unlucky person in the driver's seat. And what happens if the software is outdated and needs to be updated? Well, the one who's responsible for updating it might be responsible for damages. 

Also, if a business owns an autonomous vehicle and gets into an accident while on company business, lawyers might point to vicarious liability to hold the company liable, even without a human driver at the wheel.

The Impact on Insurance: Risk in the Age of Autonomy

Today, self-driving cars are making insurance companies think differently, like looking at the car's tech and what software version it has before they can decide how much you need to pay for insurance. 

For example, if your car is self-drive and hits a mailbox because of a glitch, the carmaker's insurer might have to cover the cost instead of yours under product liability considerations. 

There might also be times when a person and the car's tech share the blame for an accident–say if someone didn't download a software update and the car made a wrong turn. 

These instances mean that these innovations could change how much we pay for insurance in big ways.

The Legal Shift: Rewriting the Rulebook for Road Responsibility

These driverless cars are making lawmakers rewrite the road rules in many ways. For example, the legislature is working on new laws that tell car manufacturers exactly how safe their self-driving cars have to be. 

They're also trying to figure out what you're supposed to do when you're in a driverless car–like, you might still need to watch the road, be alert, and be ready to grab the wheel if something's about to go wrong. And because driving across state lines should be seamless without different states having confusing rules, they want to harmonize state and federal rules.

These changes aim to keep everyone safe as automated cars start driving themselves in increasing numbers.

The Tech Race: Outpacing the Law with Innovation

You may think cars today are like smartphones on wheels–they get regular software updates that can fix problems or add new features to accommodate their owners' convenience. The usual question always bangs: if an update comes too late and causes a crash, who's in trouble? The company that made the car or the owner who forgot to update?

As to cars that can drive themselves, if one doesn't stop in time and hits a light pole, was it the car's sensors or something else? Add that to a hacker who messes with a car's system and causes an accident; it gets more complicated. 

As technology in cars gets fancier, the laws are racing to keep up–figuring out who to blame when things go wrong isn't so simple anymore.

The New Players: Assessing the Stakeholders in Automated Accidents

With the craze and presence of self-driving cars, there are now new groups involved when accidents happen, which usually used to be accident victims and the offending driver only. 

Now, some organizations set the safety rules for these smart cars. And if they miss something and an accident happens, they might be partly to blame.

Also, the folks who write the car's software could be in hot water if a bug in their code leads to a car crash. Plus, cities that build roads for these high-tech cars are working on "smart" infrastructure to make sure everything works just right, like special lanes that are optimized for their sensors and navigation systems.

The Human Element: Revisiting the Role of the Driver

Even if your car drives on its own, there are still things like monitoring expectations, intervention protocols, and training and education on your role as the human driver to consider.

Simply put, people still have a part to play, even inside cars that drive themselves. You can't just nap while your car zooms down the highway. The law says you've got to stay alert and keep an eye on things. If something weird happens, like if your car starts to swerve for no reason, you need to know when and how to step in and take control.

You might as well learn new stuff about how these smart cars work before you get behind the wheel or sit in the driver's seat (actually). It's all about making sure you're safe while letting the car do its thing.

Bottom Line

Driverless cars are fast changing the game when it comes to who's to blame for their accidents. It's not just about drivers anymore–car companies, software programmers, and even the laws now have active roles to play.

Everyone has to stay sharp and learn how this new tech works because staying safe on the road is still a team effort, no matter how advanced the times are getting.