May 26, 2021—As the viability of truly self-driving cars increases, so does pressure to address the question: Who pays when an autonomous vehicle crashes?
Roll Call covered some of the issues that will play into coming up with an answer. Should an actual self-driving car crash—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has investigated a number of crashes involving vehicles made by Tesla, Volvo, and Lexus related to advanced driver-assistance systems—should the collision be the responsibility of the manufacturer and covered by product liability insurance?
Volvo has previously said so, and a spokesperson reiterated the OE's stance in the story, telling the publication, “When the future autonomous driving feature has been rolled out and is in use after activation by its user, Volvo Cars will take full responsibility, and assume liability, for it."
Per reporting in the story, the United States Senate is working on addressing how insurance will cover self-driving cars.