When a self-driving car is involved in a traffic accident, who is responsible?
This issue and the regulation of autonomous driving technology have always been thorny topics plaguing countries around the world, and there are no uniform rules around the world. However, regardless of the division of liability, the only certainty is that the relevant entities should purchase liability insurance for autonomous driving systems and autonomous vehicles.
The EU government voted in 2020 to amend the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, proposing to add a new section on liability for accidents involving self-driving cars. According to the EU Transport Commission' forecast, by 2030, the EU region will fully realize a truly autonomous driving society.
The United Nations also issued three bills related to autonomous vehicles in January 2021, which for the first time guided the regulatory system for autonomous vehicles at the international level.
Application scenarios for L3 and above autonomous driving levels are speeding up to come to us. Today, we have reviewed the regulations and recent developments in the UK, Germany, the US, Japan and China on the determination of liability for autonomous driving accidents, and touched on the future development of this field while facilitating the understanding of the regulatory framework of the world's major autonomous driving countries.
United Kingdom: New rules for drivers to watch TV, no liability for accidents
On April 20, according to the Guardian and other British media reports, according to the proposed traffic law changes, British drivers can watch TV and movies on the car's built-in screen during the period of autonomous driving. If an accident occurs while the vehicle is driving autonomously, the liability for the claim is borne by the insurance company, not the individual.
This presupposes that the driver remains in one lane and the speed is below 60 km/h, and the driver must be prepared to take back control of the vehicle when needed. When the car is in autopilot mode, the insurance company will be responsible for the accident and the driver will not be liable. But using a phone will still be illegal.
There are currently no approved autonomous vehicles on UK roads, and these measures are temporary measures taken by the government to support the early deployment of self-driving cars.
Earlier this year, the Law Commission of England, Wales and Scotland published a joint report recommending the introduction of a new Autonomous Vehicles Act. The bill proposes that in the event of an accident in a self-driving car, the driver and occupant of the car do not need to bear any responsibility, and the party responsible for the accident will be the automatic driving technology research and development enterprise or car company.
According to the UK's 2018 Automatic and Electric Vehicles Act, if the self-driving car is driving on a public road and has purchased insurance, the full liability should be borne by the insurance company, and if the victim has joint negligence liability for the occurrence of the accident, the insurance company or the owner of the car only needs to bear part of the responsibility for the accident, and the remaining part of the responsibility should be borne by the victim himself.
Germany: Liability for accidents begins with Mercedes-Benz
On March 23, Mercedes-Benz announced that when Mercedes-Benz drivers equipped with Drive Pilot turn on the vehicle's advanced driver assistance system, they will be legally responsible for the operation of the car. This means that whenever a car in which Drive Pilot is active is involved in a car accident, Mercedes-Benz will bear the relevant responsibility.
Unveiled in December 2021 on the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, the Drive Pilot is the first internationally recognized effective L3 level autonomous driving system that has been approved for use on German roads, operating at speeds of less than 40 mph (about 64 km/h) on predetermined road routes. At this speed, self-driving technology will fully control the speed, steering and braking of the car.
In 2017, Germany passed the Eighth Amendment to the Road Traffic Act, which stipulates the road test conditions for autonomous vehicles, which requires a human driver on the self-driving car in order to take over the vehicle at any time, the insurance limit for the receiver and the owner of the car in the event of life/bodily damage and property damage, and the division of liability between the two parties in the event of an accident. The basis for judgment is obtained by forcing a "black box" installed in a self-driving car. If the accident occurs during the artificial driving phase, the driver is liable, and if it occurs during the operation phase of the system, or if the accident is caused by a system failure, the car manufacturer is liable.
In February 2021, Germany passed the amendments to the Road Traffic Law and the Compulsory Insurance Law – The Autonomous Driving Act, and in July, the German Autonomous Driving Act came into force. According to the law, starting in 2022, Germany will allow autonomous vehicles (L4 level) to drive in designated areas on public roads. Germany thus became the first country in the world to allow driverless vehicles to participate in everyday traffic and be used nationwide. In terms of insurance, the Autonomous Driving Law stipulates that the owner of a self-driving car must purchase a liability insurance, and the beneficiary is a technical supervisor.
United States: A handful of states have approved legislation
Earlier this year, the Institute of Highway Safety and Insurance (IIHS) launched a safety rating program for partially automated systems to assess whether vehicles using partially automated systems are adequately insured. At present, federal regulations on the determination of responsibility for the operation of self-driving cars throughout the United States are still being developed, and most legislation is independently passed by the states.
At the end of January, the U.S. Senate of Pennsylvania proposed legislation to amend the current law to include operational liability determinations for self-driving cars with or without drivers. It stipulates that highly automated vehicles with advanced autonomous driving systems or remotely controlled by advanced automated driving systems will not be subject to today's regulations for vehicles that require human drivers to drive and are not equipped with autonomous driving systems.
When there are 3 vehicles traveling together greater than or equal to 3 vehicles, the leading vehicle must be equipped with a driver. Non-leading vehicles can be operated using autonomous driving systems, and there is no mandatory requirement for drivers. In the event of an accident, a highly autonomous vehicle will be required to stop and stop at the scene of the accident and immediately report the accident to the police.
Other U.S. states have also introduced or proposed corresponding legal regulations and bills for self-driving cars.
For example, Texas law states that self-driving cars are "fully operated by an autonomous driving system in all trips" and are not subject to traditional vehicle laws or regulations for human drivers to operate vehicles; in Florida, when a remote operating system is activated, autonomous vehicles can operate without a human driver.
Arizona's legislature amended its traffic laws last year to include traffic accidents with self-driving cars because the state allows such vehicles to be tested and operated on public roads. The local law requires self-driving cars without drivers to stop at the scene of a crash, just as human drivers are asked to park. Self-driving car owners or people acting on their behalf have a responsibility to report the accident to the police.
The Wyoming Senate has introduced a bill that would allow self-driving cars to operate on public roads, as long as they can comply with all traffic regulations without a driver present and comply with all applicable safety standards, equipment requirements, and performance requirements of state and federal law. The bill proposes $5 million in insurance for commercial vehicles equipped with highly automated driving systems and "appropriate markings" on the front, rear and sides of the vehicle to let the public and law enforcement know they are operating autonomously.
Japan: Mobile phones are available and there are government remedies
The Road Traffic Law, which allows the use of L3 autonomous driving on highways, came into effect in Japan in April 2020 and was once seen as one of the most radical legislative initiatives for autonomous driving.
Since May 2016, Japan has successively issued documents such as the Guidelines for Road Testing of Autonomous Vehicles, the Guidelines for the Processing of Road Test Permits for Remote Autonomous Driving Systems, the Outline for the Preparation of Autonomous Driving Related Systems, and the Technical Guidelines for the Safety of Autonomous Vehicles, laying the foundation for the subsequent permission for L3 level autonomous vehicles to be put on the road, and higher-level (L4 and L5) autonomous vehicles will be discussed later.
According to the revised Road Traffic Law, car users equipped with autonomous driving devices should save the data recorded by the operating status recording device in accordance with relevant laws. When the conditions for the use of the automatic driving device are not met, the driver shall use the automatic driving device to drive the autonomous vehicle by himself.
According to the Outline for the Preparation of The Relevant System for Autonomous Driving, the responsibility for accidents at level L3 (with the driver's sitting state and conditional automatic driving) is, in principle, borne by the owner of the vehicle, that is, the responsibility of the autonomous vehicle and the ordinary car is treated equally, and the responsibility of the enterprise is limited to the time when there is a clear defect in the automobile system.
Drivers of cars equipped with autonomous driving devices are not required to comply with the prohibition on the use of wireless devices such as mobile phones when driving the car. However, if a traffic accident occurs, it is also necessary to bear the corresponding legal responsibility. Specific responsibilities are for poor maintenance of the car or for ignoring car warnings. That is, the driver does not upgrade the latest automatic driving system is not OK, in bad weather dust or rain and snow to block the camera is not OK. It is not possible to see obvious warning signs on the road without human intervention, and responsibility is assumed.
Japanese law also stipulates that the insurance company's business should cover the traffic accidents of self-driving cars, and if a traffic accident occurs, the insurance company must pay compensation.
Unlike ordinary cars, driving is decided by people, self-driving cars are determined by artificial intelligence systems, and there is a possibility that the system is controlled by hackers and leads to accidents, which applies to the government's relief system and is compensated by the government.
China: Interior testers assume primary responsibility
China does not have a national automatic driving policy, at present, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Fuzhou, etc. have issued autonomous vehicle test guidelines, from the guide can be seen that in the current testing stage, China's automatic driving accident responsibility is determined by the vehicle tester to bear the main responsibility.
In March 2021, the Ministry of Public Security issued the Road Traffic Safety Law (Revised Draft), which clarifies the relevant requirements for road testing and passage of cars with autonomous driving functions, as well as the provisions on the sharing of liability for violations and accidents.
According to the expression of article 155 of it: Vehicles with automatic driving functions shall carry out road tests in closed roads and venues, obtain temporary driving number plates, and carry out road tests at designated times, areas and routes in accordance with regulations. Those who have passed the test shall be allowed to produce, import and sell in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and those who need to pass on the road shall apply for a motor vehicle number plate.
When a car with automatic driving function and a manual direct operation mode carries out road testing or goes on the road, it should record the driving data in real time; the driver should be in the driver's seat of the vehicle, monitor the operation status of the vehicle and the surrounding environment, and be ready to take over the vehicle at any time. Where road traffic safety violations or traffic accidents occur, the responsibility of the driver and the unit developing the automatic driving system shall be determined in accordance with law, and the liability for damages shall be determined in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is to be pursued in accordance with law.
This is the first time at the national legislative level.