About Us Offices Careers
Practice Areas Industry Teams People Insights
Practice Areas Industry Teams People Insights
About Us Offices Careers
Home Insights What Are the Barriers to Autonomous Vehicles? The Answers May Surprise You…
See Insights
PDF

What Are the Barriers to Autonomous Vehicles? The Answers May Surprise You…

29 January 2015 Dashboard Insights Blog

Foley hosted Drive Forward: The Future of Telematics on January 14 and undoubtedly, our speakers agreed – the connected car is here to stay with technology rapidly advancing towards the integration of autonomous vehicles. Speakers provided supplier, OEM and legal perspectives on the technologies and challenges associated with the increased interconnectivity of vehicles.

Though Telematics are already in most cars (think self-parking, smart cruise control, etc.) the goal is to improve V2V communication in order to make cars fully autonomous. But why is that the goal? Because customers insist on the latest technology for their vehicles, not only for convenience but most importantly, for safety. This is no easy task, as one speaker pointed out – there are more lines of code in a luxury vehicle than a 777 Dreamliner.

And while technology is a challenge faced by both suppliers and OEMs, the integration of connected cars and ultimately, autonomous vehicles, will not be led by technology; they’ll be led by legal and ethical issues. As Dashboard Insights explored earlier, technology is not the limiting factor in getting the autonomous, or driverless, car on the road. The limiting factors are diverse and they include:

  • Ethical issues – i.e. what do you hit, another car or a pedestrian?
  • Regulatory issues – should states or the federal government implement laws?
  • Legal issues – who is liable if the car hits a pedestrian, the OEM, the person who wrote the algorithm, etc.?
  • Insurance issues – how do you insure something not controlled by a person?
  • Privacy and big data issues – who is responsible for safely storing increasingly personal information? Who is liable when the info is hacked? Does the technology need to comply with the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights?

All these issues will need to be addressed before the general public will embrace a driverless vehicle. The Dashboard Insights team will continue to follow and will continue to publish articles on the developments in telematics technology and related regulations. Stay tuned…

This blog is made available by Foley & Lardner LLP (“Foley” or “the Firm”) for informational purposes only. It is not meant to convey the Firm’s legal position on behalf of any client, nor is it intended to convey specific legal advice. Any opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Foley & Lardner LLP, its partners, or its clients. Accordingly, do not act upon this information without seeking counsel from a licensed attorney. This blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Communicating with Foley through this website by email, blog post, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship for any legal matter. Therefore, any communication or material you transmit to Foley through this blog, whether by email, blog post or any other manner, will not be treated as confidential or proprietary. The information on this blog is published “AS IS” and is not guaranteed to be complete, accurate, and or up-to-date. Foley makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation or content of the site. Foley expressly disclaims all other guarantees, warranties, conditions and representations of any kind, either express or implied, whether arising under any statute, law, commercial use or otherwise, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Foley or any of its partners, officers, employees, agents or affiliates be liable, directly or indirectly, under any theory of law (contract, tort, negligence or otherwise), to you or anyone else, for any claims, losses or damages, direct, indirect special, incidental, punitive or consequential, resulting from or occasioned by the creation, use of or reliance on this site (including information and other content) or any third party websites or the information, resources or material accessed through any such websites. In some jurisdictions, the contents of this blog may be considered Attorney Advertising. If applicable, please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Photographs are for dramatization purposes only and may include models. Likenesses do not necessarily imply current client, partnership or employee status.

Related Services

Industry Teams
Automotive

Insights