Those in California who dreams of owning a driverless car will have to wait as programmers hone the technology to make these vehicles as safe as possible. The current problem is that self-driving vehicles might work too well. Driverless cars basically function as perfect motorists, which is an issue because not everyone else on the road obeys all the laws as these vehicles do.
Self-driving cars currently have a crash rate that’s double the average of traditional vehicles. However, human motorists have been at fault in all of these accidents. Aggressive and distracted drivers are not used to cautious, law-abiding driverless vehicles, which also react faster than humans do. Human drivers are not always prepared for the quick changes that a driverless vehicle can execute, such as a sudden stop or decrease in speed.
While the accidents that have occurred so far have been minor, programmers are not sure how to proceed since the solution might involve teaching the driverless cars to occasionally commit infractions like breaking the speed limit to avoid problems. Some technicians want to make the driverless vehicles operate more like safe human drivers who follow the laws but also know how to act aggressively when the situation calls for it.
The introduction of driverless cars may eventually mean that there are fewer car accidents, but a personal injury claim can help those who are injured by crashes while driverless technology is still in the development stages. When looking at cases between two or more human motorists, investigators try to determine what caused a crash. If negligence led to the accident, injured parties may try to seek compensation from the at-fault driver.