Who Pays When Driverless Cars Crash? UK Insurers Call for Int’l Standards

November 22, 2016

Cars of the future will need to collect a basic set of core data to prevent drivers being unfairly blamed if technology goes wrong, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The ABI supports the formation of an standard set of data agreed at an international level which would be easily available in the event of an accident involving a highly automated vehicle. This would include an indication of whether the vehicle was operating autonomously or not, and what technology was in use, the ABI said in a statement.

This information would be used to:

  • establish liability for anything that had gone wrong
  • inform emergency services’ investigations
  • ensure insurance claims could be processed promptly
  • help vehicle manufacturers improve their products.

On occasions where faulty technology was shown to have caused an accident, insurers should be able to recover the costs from the manufacturer, which would help keep insurance premiums down, the ABI said.

Such universal collection of information would only concern the autonomous systems and driver interaction – it is not proposed that any information measuring driver performance should be gathered, the ABI added.

The ABI suggests that the data would cover a period from 30 seconds before to 15 seconds after an incident and is:

  • a GPS record of the time and location of the incident
  • confirmation of whether the vehicle was in autonomous or manual mode
  • if in autonomous mode, whether the vehicle was parking or driving
  • when the vehicle went into autonomous mode, and when the driver last interacted with the system
  • any driver activity such as braking or steering
  • whether the driver’s seat was occupied, and whether the seat belt was fastened.

The UN body responsible for vehicle regulations is preparing to impose its own data requirements on motor manufacturers from 2019, which insurers in the UK are hoping to influence for the benefit of motorists, the ABI explained.

“Insurance is an increasingly innovative sector, constantly responding to evolving technology. We have created new ways for people to manage their motor insurance via their smart phones, and a service to collate people’s pension savings online is in development,” said Huw Evans, ABI director general.

“Insurance enables technological advances in other sectors, and we are backing the development of automated cars one hundred per cent,” he added.

“As part of insurers’ commitment to getting automated cars on the road and dramatically improving road safety, there will need to be basic data easily available to make sure customers are looked after if something goes wrong. This would offer public reassurance by protecting motorists from being incorrectly blamed if something fails with their car, helping police investigations and supporting prompt insurance pay outs,” Evans continued.
“One of the key battlegrounds of the future will be determining where liability rests in the event of an accident with an automated car,” said Peter Shaw, chief executive of Thatcham Research, which is an automotive research center funded by the insurance industry.

“Future legislation needs to protect the consumer so that in the event of an accident, responsibility for the accident and who pays can be quickly determined. Was it driver error or a failure of the automated driving system? This can only happen if their insurer has access to key data about the crash. We are calling on car manufacturers and legislators to work with the insurance industry to develop a framework to make this happen,” Shaw said.

Source: Association of British Insurers

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Topics Carriers Auto Manufacturing

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