Abstract
This study explores the liability associated with the use of autonomous vehicles. With the increase in efforts by automobile industries to manufacture driverless cars, the issue of liability occupies the front seat of the discussion. A major benefit of autonomous and connected vehicles is their potential to ameliorate, if not eradicate, avoidable accidents on roads. Currently, it is estimated that 90% of road accidents are caused by human error. The epoch of driverless vehicles, where the narrative will drastically change, is upon us. This means a shift away from human liability to machine liability, since these technologies have in-built algorithms to ensure autonomous decisions by the vehicle. Product liability becomes crucial in the wake of driverless cars. The gradual and ultimate shift of liability from the traditional human driver to the machine ‘driver’ coupled with the cross-border sale of driverless vehicles provide justification for scholarly attention. Accidents may now be attributed to technological error and not human mistake. Conflict of law issues become central in instances where manufacturers and users live in different parts of the world...
LL.M. (International Commercial Law)