[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Autonomous cars also open up huge number of questions in terms of responsibility.

If you car gets into an accident which they invariably all will, then what happens. Snow, ice, mechanical/computer errors will continue to exists regardless of whether the car is self driving or not. So what happens to insurance? If your car hits another one due to mechnical/compiuter error, are you still responsible? If the car was doing the driving does that mean any insurance you must pay could be recouped by suing the car company? How can you be held responsible for your driving when you weren't even driving? Isn't that akin to be held personally responsible if your taxi get's into an accident? Is drunk 'driving' now considered legal if your car is doing the driving?

Will we even have driving test or legal limits anymore? Again, isn't that like having to be a certain age or have a driver's liscense to take a cab? You don't have to be a certain age or have a lift certification to take an elevator. You don't have to have a liscense to take a bus. What's the difference? Driverless cars are, when you get right to the basics, are nothing but a personal taxi service. Does this also mean that driving is no longer a privledge but a right like taking a bus or cab?

Autonomous cars maybe much further down the road than we think. Even if the technology is perfected, it will take years or even decades of endless court cases to determine the amount, if any, responsibility a person has for an accident. If it is decided by the courts that it is the manufacturer that bears responsibility, then all the car makers will quickly retreat finding that their autonomous cars are costing them a fortune.

Agree. Technology is really hard to predict. We often assume a trend will continue when in fact often times they stall.