Are Major Legal Changes Needed for the Driverless Car Era?

Long-time Slashdot reader Hope Thelps brings news about the future of self-driving cars. 'The law commisions of England and Wales and of Scotland (statutory bodies which keep the laws in those countries under review) are recommending a shift in accident liability away from 'drivers' when autonomous cars become a reality.'

The BBC reports:

Human drivers should not be legally accountable for road safety in the era of autonomous cars, a report says. In these cars, the driver should be redefined as a 'user-in-charge', with very different legal responsibilities, according to the law commissions for England and Wales, and Scotland. If anything goes wrong, the company behind the driving system would be responsible, rather than the driver....

In the interim, carmakers must be extremely clear about the difference between self-drive and driver-assist features. There should be no sliding scale of driverless capabilities — a car is either autonomous or not....
Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said the government would 'fully consider' the recommendations. The Scottish and Welsh governments will also decide whether to introduce legislation.



The BBC also summarized some of the reports other recommendations:

Data to understand fault and liability following a collision must be accessible
Sanctions for carmakers who fail to reveal how their systems work

Read more of this story at Slashdot.