Recommendations
Below are federal, state, and private-sector recommendations for addressing the existing legal gaps in the self-driving car industry in the United States.
1. Federal Recommendations
2. State Recommendations
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All 50 States should enact AV legislation
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AV Legislation should establish a liability framework if an accident occurs​
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Liability Frameworks should balance:
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making vehicles available to consumers and clarifying consumer liability if an AV is involved in an accident​
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Proposed Liability Standard: Rebuttable Presumption
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​This standard would initially hold an AV manufacturer liable for any damage caused while the autonomous vehicle was self-driving. However, this standard would allow the AV manufacturer to rebut the presumption by demonstrating that some other person was liable for the damage caused (whether that be the consumer or some third party). If the courts rule that the evidence is sufficient to rebut the presumption that the AV systems were not functioning properly (according to the data provided by the AV manufacturer), then the burden would shift to the plaintiff to show that the AV manufacturers data was flawed.
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Note: this idea was borrowed and influenced by PennDOT's Director of Office of Transformational Technology and Member of PennDOT's Autonomous Vehicles Task Force, Mark Kopko
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3. Private-Sector Recommendations
The Private-Sector should:
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Be incentivized and/or federally required to incorporate and implement the 12 Safety Elements found in Vision for Safety 2.0;
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Include whether it has incorporated the 12 Safety Elements into its design and manufacturing of self-driving cars as a reporting requirement in its Safety Self-Assessment submitted to NHTSA; and
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Create own internal standards and codes of conduct and implement internal auditing requirements to ensure all areas of the supply chain and manufacturing are incorporating the 12 Safety Elements.
