The Driverless Car and the Legal System: Hopes and Fears as the Courts, Regulatory Agencies, Waymo, Tesla, and Uber Deal with this Exciting and Terrifying New Technology

Abstract

There are an astounding number of deaths and injuries resulting from car accidents each year. Since the development of the motor vehicle, societies and legal systems have considered vehicular deaths and injuries as an acceptable cost when compared to the benefits of the motor vehicle.
The development of the driverless car has the potential to reduce the carnage that result from motor vehicle accidents. Many of these unnecessary deaths and injuries will be prevented by the new technology. This paper will discuss how the legal system in pursuit of justice and corporations in pursuit of profits deal with this new technology.