TECHNOLOGY
Autonomous cars are not being rushed to the market
The automotive industry appears to be taking a more cautious approach to self-driving vehicles
In the last few years car companies globally have been proudly declaring that they are close to putting autonomous vehicles on the roads. Then everyone realised it’s not as simple as just producing a car that can drive itself. Headline-grabbing incidents involving Tesla and Uber didn’t help, making everyone aware that there are risks. There is also the big question of who is responsible when it does go wrong. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) stated last week that drivers of fully automated vehicles should not be held liable for accidents involving their cars while the technology is in charge. Laurenz Gerger, policy adviser for motor insurance at the ABI, says: “There will come a point when the drivers of today are effectively just passengers of a vehicle driving itself, and at that stage we want motorists to be reassured they can’t be held liable for an error made by a vehicle or a piece of on-board technology.” He said standards being set internationally “need to enforce s...
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