Google Car Steering Toward Driverless Future?

Will consumers soon be seeing driverless cars on the market? Still to be determined are questions of liability if driverless cars were to end up in accidents.

2010-10-24

October 24, 2010 (Press-News.org) Long a staple of science fiction, the driverless car may be maneuvering into the near future, thanks to Google. The Google Car could be a technological dream come true: fuel-efficient transportation that eases congestion and eliminates accidents. Almost.

The New York Times reports that the "Google Car" is a Toyota Prius fitted with data-storing cameras and steered by software based on artificial intelligence. It has already driven more than 140,000 miles in a variety of traffic conditions without causing an accident. The Google Car is not accident-free, however; it was rear-ended at a stop light by another vehicle.

Engineers make good arguments for autonomous cars like the Google Car; the cars never get sleepy, distracted or drunk--but could driverless cars cause auto accidents?

The website www.alttransport.com raises an interesting question about these cars on autopilot. Who will be held liable when a driverless motor vehicle inevitably causes an accident, injury or death?

Who Drives a Driverless Car?

An engineer sits in the driver's seat of the driverless Google Car, ready to intervene if the vehicle veers off-course or needs adjustments. If the vehicles enter the mainstream, would someone sit in the same position, ready to take control of the vehicle at a moment's notice?

It seems unlikely that we could reasonably expect people to pay full attention in vehicles designed specifically so that drivers must not devote complete attention to safely navigating traffic.

New York Laws: Rewritten, Reinterpreted

It seems likely, on the other hand, that New York laws regulating operations of motor vehicles would have to undergo some extensive revisions if driverless cars entered the market.

The statutes currently refer almost exclusively to what drivers can and cannot do while behind the wheel. But if Google software is piloting the car, it's not out of the question that Google itself could be held liable for damages in some accident, injury and wrongful death cases.

Bill Childs, professor at the Western New England College School of Law told alttransport.com that he assumes that driverless vehicles would come with extensive, specific instructions about when it's appropriate to use the automatic, driverless mode, and when people must operate the vehicles manually, as we do with cars now.

Corporation versus Corporation

And what happens when a Toyota steered by a Google software system causes an accident, injury or death: could the auto giant sue the high-tech behemoth?

"Absolutely," said a San Francisco personal injury attorney who spoke to alttransport.com.

Driverless crashes could open carmakers to a new array of product liability lawsuits, potentially pitting vehicle manufacturers against software makers.

Courts would have to decide to what degree the corporations share liability, likely by reinterpreting law on the books or interpreting law yet to be written.

In the Present

Widespread use of driverless cars will not be reality for awhile.

Today, motorists and passengers injured in car accidents caused by distracted, drunk or reckless drivers should contact a New York personal injury attorney with a track record for successful representation of injured clients.

Article provided by The Perecman Firm, P.L.L.C.
Visit us at www.perecman.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Superbreak Reports Increase in Short Breaks in Manchester

2010-10-24

Superbreak, the city break provider, has reported year-on-year online revenue growth for customers taking short breaks to Manchester as the breadth of product expands to include theatre breaks. The York based tour operator has secured a number of new theatre shows in Manchester to further compliment its' range of breaks on offer. The introduction of smash hit west end theatre shows including Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You to Manchester's Opera House and Palace Theatre have only helped to strengthen its product proposition for Manchester. London theatre breaks continue ...

Redspottedhanky Joins with Railway Children to Help UK Street Children

2010-10-24

Redspottedhanky, in conjunction with the Railway Children charity, is trying to get train travellers across the UK to help generate up to a staggering GBP30,000 a day to help young runaways and street children simply by booking their train travel online. Railway Children, a charity for the welfare of young runaways, is calling for commuters to change the lives of British street children by donating loyalty points which they can earn by booking their train tickets on www.redspottedhanky.com. Each day 3 million people in the UK travel by train. If each of these passengers ...

Stena Line Announces Christening of Stena Britannica

2010-10-24

The Stena Britannica has been christened in Harwich by Susan Hammond, wife of the Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport. Mrs Hammond christened the North Sea Superferry, the largest UK-registered ferry ever, in the town's international port at 13.30 hrs on October 19th, following an address by Stena Line's area director for the North Sea, Pim de Lange. Celebrated by more than 400 guests, the occasion included a three-course champagne lunch and speeches by Stena AB chairman Dan Sten Olsson; Stena Line managing director Gunnar Blomdahl and Philip Hammond ...

Littlewoods Europe Announces Top 10 Toys Prediction for Xmas 2010

2010-10-24

Littlewoods Europe has revealed the top toys on every child's wish list to Santa this year in an effort to help give parents a head start with their shopping this Christmas. Among the Christmas gift ideas which Littlewoods expects to be the most sought-after this year are hi-tech gadgets such as robotic hamsters and video cameras, along with some of the more traditional ones like dolls houses which also make an appearance. Character toys are a huge trend in the 2010 Christmas gift ideas list, with the success of Toy Story 3 expected to see Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear ...

Childhood cancer survivors face long-term risk of GI complications, study finds

2010-10-23

VIDEO: People treated for cancer when they were children have a higher-than-average risk of gastrointestinal problems -- some mild, some quite severe -- in the years following treatment, according to a... Click here for more information. BOSTON—People treated for cancer when they were children have a higher-than-average risk of gastrointestinal problems – some mild, some quite severe – in the years following treatment, according to a study to be presented at the 42nd Congress ...

Positive social traits trump bad health habits

2010-10-23

Many studies have documented the dangers of the traditional negative physical risk factors on health – excessive smoking, drinking and being overweight. But far less research has focused on less-tangible, positive influences -- the protective role of psychological and social supports. New research by Margie E. Lachman Ph.D. and Stefan Agrigoroaei Ph.D. of the Brandeis Psychology Department explores the psychological roots of health. Lachman is Director of the Lifespan Developmental Psychological Laboratory in the Department of Psychology, and Agrigoroaei is a postdoctoral ...

Scientists find evidence for widespread water ice on the moon

2010-10-23

Scientists from NASA's Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment team have detected the widespread presence of water ice in large areas of the moon's south pole. Their findings appear Oct. 22 in two papers published in the journal Science. The research was funded by NASA. Diviner, an infrared spectrometer aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), has made the first infrared measurements of temperatures in the permanently shadowed craters at the moon's poles. In October 2009, Diviner also made the first infrared observations of a controlled impact on the moon, ...

Partners who had powerful faces in college lead profitable law firms

2010-10-23

Los Angeles, CA (October 21, 2010) Law firms are more profitable when they are led by managing partners who have faces that look powerful, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE). Appearance matters a great deal when it comes to judging people—this includes clothing, posture, hairstyles—but the real window to judging people is the face. Previous studies have shown that West Point cadets whose faces projected dominance were more likely to become generals than cadets with less dominant faces, Senate candidates ...

Studies: Pneumonia is misdiagnosed on patient readmissions

2010-10-23

DETROIT – Patients were misdiagnosed with pneumonia at an alarming rate when they were readmitted to the hospital shortly after a previous hospitalization for the same illness, according to two Henry Ford Hospital companion studies. Researchers say the misdiagnoses led to overuse of antibiotics and increased health care costs. Pneumonia ranks second to congestive heart failure as the reason for readmission within 30 days of a previous hospitalization. Led by Henry Ford Infectious Diseases physicians Hiren Pokharna, M.D., and Norman Markowitz, M.D., researchers found ...

How H1N1 differs from other viruses as a respiratory illness

2010-10-23

PROVIDENCE, RI -- The 2009/2010 Influenza A (H1N1) is one of several viruses responsible for respiratory-related infections. A new study from Rhode Island Hospital examined patients with viruses and found distinguishing characteristics of the H1N1 virus in how it affects respiratory illness. Their findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America to be held in Vancouver, Canada on Friday, Oct. 22. Phil Chan, MD, an infectious diseases fellow at Rhode Island Hospital, studied the signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings of 668 ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New platform could develop vaccines faster than ever before

TF-rs1049296 C>T variant modifies the association between hepatic iron stores and liver fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease

ASH publishes clinical practice guidelines on diagnosis of light chain amyloidosis

SLAS receives grant from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop lab automation educational guidelines

Serum interleukin-8 for differentiating invasive pulmonary aspergillosis from bacterial pneumonia in patients with HBV-associated acute-on-chronic liver failure