Self-Driving Cars Raise Questions About Who Carries Insurance

[JohnDavies]

Self-Driving Cars Raise Questions About Who Carries Insurance?

Self-Driving Cars Raise Questions About Who Carries Insurance : All Tech Considered : NPR

 

[markjay]

Interesting.

And given the amount of data collected by autonomous cars... they could have an algorithm on board that - in the event of a collision with another vehicle - will determine on the spot which of the two vehicles is 'at fault"....

 

[400ixl]

The big difference will come when the standards are in place for how these autonomous vehicles talk to each other in real time regardless of manufacturer.

When they can all tell each other what they are doing, the already low number of collisions will drop even further and this will affect insurance companies as their whole business model changes. profitability may be more predictable and they may get better margins, but revenue will drop considerably and they will have to resize to accommodate.

It will be gradual, as there will still be squishy things controlling cars for a while yet and driving into things, but the insurers recognise the disruption to their business moel is coming.

 

[renault12ts]

The big difference will come when the standards are in place for how these autonomous vehicles talk to each other in real time regardless of manufacturer.

When they can all tell each other what they are doing, the already low number of collisions will drop even further and this will affect insurance companies as their whole business model changes. profitability may be more predictable and they may get better margins, but revenue will drop considerably and they will have to resize to accommodate.

It will be gradual, as there will still be squishy things controlling cars for a while yet and driving into things, but the insurers recognise the disruption to their business moel is coming.

Somewhat rose tinted I think.

 

[whitenemesis]

"Robots to be Electronic Persons"

https://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/ot-off-topic-forums/218894-robots-electronic-persons.html

 

[400ixl]

Somewhat rose tinted I think.

In what way, good to hear another perspective?

Standards protocol is already being worked on and will come.
Autonomous vehicles will have less accidents than human driven.
Autonomous vehicles will become the norm.

How long it will take to become the norm is debatable, but will happen.

 

[renault12ts]

In what way, good to hear another perspective?

Standards protocol is already being worked on and will come.
Autonomous vehicles will have less accidents than human driven.
Autonomous vehicles will become the norm.

How long it will take to become the norm is debatable, but will happen.

How autonomous?

Will you have to program each journey in before you set off? How do you change your mind and go down small lanes etc. Or dive up a different street or anything? What if you want to stop for the paper on the way home...any of the myriad things we all do which we don't anticipate when we set off.

What about road works and other "obstructions"? I just do not see it happening other than as a sort of super distronic. How will it cope with cyclists in cities ducking and diving between cars etc etc. How will it cope when on a Sunday drive I want to slow down to take in the views etc etc. Driving isn't always about getting from A to B but about the journey itself. Will it be able to deny you service if it doesn't think you should go down that lane or on that beach or...

 

[400ixl]

Fully autonomous. They already have the ability to take in on the fly corrections for things like going to the shops on the way which will be voice commanded.

They will have no issues with cyclist as the radar and algorithms will cope with that better than humans as there won't be blind spots which is a real issue today.

There will no doubt be the option to tell it a speed you want to drive at, otherwise it will just take the most efficient speed and route.

You will for quite a while have a manual mode as well, and this will be a conundrum for insurers, as how much manual driving as it will significantly increase the risk of an accident occurring.

The technology pretty much already exists to cope with every scenario you mention, it just a case of the next few years of putting it into practice. You will then get the early adopters who take it on (more see a car for getting to A-B than those who don't) and you will always get the laggers. Tat's just human nature, but it won't stop the technology being deployed.

 

[renault12ts]

Car electronics cannot be described as robust most of the time. Yet, autonomous cars would have to be 100%...all the time.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Nothing is 100% robust.

Car electronics cannot be described as robust most of the time. Yet, autonomous cars would have to be 100%...all the time.

Not even Apollo 13.

It's all about managing the risks.

The only thing that's certain is that the average autonomous car is going to drive itself far more safely, and far more slowly, than most human drivers.