The emergence of autonomous vehicles presents many legal questions. Particularly, how should liability, absent statutory or regulato-ry directive, be assessed and apportioned when an autonomous vehicle, under automatic control, gets into an accident that is not clearly the fault of another vehicle? How the law treats autonomous vehicle liability, while attempting to preserve as many of the benefits as possible, could have substantial effects on the development and safety of the technology, and the subsequent future of transportation.6 Obviously the statutory and regulatory treatment of autonomous vehicles will play a large role in shaping the future of this technology. But courts, too, will play a pivotal role in shaping the legal treatment of autonomous vehicles by answering questions not addressed (or addressed poorly) by legislation and regula-tion. Accordingly, this Comment offers courts guidance on approaching the question of liability arising from an accident involving an autono-mous vehicle.
Smart Mobility Community for Standards and Practices
