In the absence of any human input in the operation of vehicles
(level 5),1 drivers are rendered
passengers and any liability for causing an accident
inevitably shifts from the motorist to the manufacturer; from the
person to the product. This does not start only
at Level 5 however – we will begin seeing this already in
Level 4, Level 3 and even Level 2 autonomous vehicles as they
become more popular. The more control relinquished by the driver,
the more exposure is drawn to the manufacturer because of the
increased likelihood that an accident was the result of the
manufacturer's product (for example, erroneous programming code
or faulty sensors).
In addressing what that might look like into the future and how
an adjuster could handle litigation involving autonomous vehicles
– both fully autonomous and semi-autonomous (level 3 and 4),
I will employ a thought experiment framed around
the real-life example of the Uber-pedestrian accident in Arizona.
In March of this
