sobering news :(
https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tragic-loss
By coincidence, I was pondering the liability question this morning.
In our overly litigious society, who's gonna be left holding the bag when someone sues?
by default, I guess the manufacturer or AI supplier will be part of the lawsuit.
Should they be held liable or not?
I guess it may be for the courts to decide.
This made the morning news in the UK today. I am sure that luddites will cite it as the reason driverless cars are unsafe.
I am sure most people on here will appreciate, however, that though once in over 130 million miles the computer missed a light coloured trailer against a bright sky, in 130 million miles with a human behind the wheel, far more things have been missed by motorist's vision.
Hell, at the weekend, I almost backed into my own husband, and had it not been for the warning beeps I would have (albeit at 5 miles an hour).
It's very sad news. I still believe, in the long run, driverless cars will be much safer, though never infallible.
Liability is a difficult one. Without the autopilot engaged, it sounds as though the outcome would have been the same. Neither the auto-pilot nor the driver saw the trailer, one would assume, as no brakes were applied at all. So I don't see how it's any different to a normal road accident, and unless it was a mechanical failure, the manufacturer would not usually be held responsible. Also, it sounds like the person pulling the trailer pulled out without enough time to clear the carriageway. The right of way was to the Tesla, in my understanding, and if you are going to cross a carriageway - especially pulling a trailer - you need to be sure you are across it before anything already on the road arrives at that point.
But as I said, very sad news for everyone involved.