While the average person looks at the potential for a car that drives itself and think it may be a revolution in the way we travel, some lawyers might have other things in mind. In a society full to the brim with lawsuits, some lawyers view the technology has a huge payday.
If two robot driven cars collide, what happens in a legal sense? This is something that lawyers are butting heads over in the dawn before the technology is widespread. If your computer can crash, what’s to stop a computer driven car from crashing? Take for instance all the latest hacking incidents. If a hacker can infiltrate and control your car, who is at fault? The lawyers are likely to go after the large car manufacturers, smelling blood in the water.
Driverless cars are touted as being the safest possible option for an accident free future, but every single first generation piece of technology is bound to have some flaw that isn’t seen at first. Something will always go wrong, and it could lead to an industry changing lawsuit.
While the future is uncertain with how laws will pass in regards to driverless cars, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Every step forward towards safer roads is always a better one. Too many people have lost their lives in automotive accidents that could have been solved with robotic drivers who never show those negative human traits.
Image via Flickr/Steve Jurvetson
