Mercedes-Benz, Cruise, German traffic authorities and legal experts were all there. We asked: Whom do we hold accountable when highly automated vehicles make mistakes?
Regulation Panel at The Autonomous in Vienna, on Sept. 14, 2023 (Photo Credit: Lauren Kwan)
What’s at stake:
We have heard endlessly how robotaxis are safer than human-driven vehicles. In Vienna, at the Autonomous conference, held under the auspices of TTTech Auto, we came not necessarily to debunk that myth but to pick the brains of automakers and regulators about the thorny issues of liability.
It’s a sin to squander an opportunity to take the stage and ask direct questions to people in charge. Waffling and evasion are typical results. Nonetheless, even those non-answers live on in the public record.