Self-Driving Cars and Crash Liability in New York

Driver assistance features are now common, and fully automated vehicles are being tested in several states. That raises a reasonable question for anyone injured in a collision: if the technology was driving, who is responsible?

New York still expects a human to be in control

New York has taken a more cautious approach than many states. Testing of autonomous technology on public roads has been permitted only under a state authorised programme with specific conditions, and New York law has long required a driver to keep at least one hand on the steering wheel while a vehicle is in motion. In practice this means that in New York the person behind the wheel is generally still expected to be in control, whatever the vehicle is capable of.

Most systems currently sold to consumers are driver assistance features, not self-driving systems. Lane keeping, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking assist a driver. They do not replace one, and marketing names can overstate what a system actually does.

How responsibility is usually analyzed

A crash involving an automated system does not create a special category of claim. It usually raises the same questions as any other collision, with one or two extra threads.

• The driver. Was the person behind the wheel paying attention and operating the vehicle reasonably in the conditions?
• The vehicle owner or fleet. Was the vehicle maintained, and were software updates applied?
• The manufacturer. Did a defect in design, manufacture or warnings contribute? Claims of this kind typically require retained technical experts and are considerably more involved than an ordinary collision claim.

The data is different, and it does not last forever

Modern vehicles record a great deal. Event data recorders, camera footage, telematics and over the air update logs can show speed, braking, steering input and whether a system was engaged. That evidence is often controlled by the manufacturer or a fleet operator, and retention periods vary. Preserving it usually requires a prompt request, which is one practical reason not to wait.

New York rules still apply

The familiar New York framework does not change because software was involved. No-fault benefits generally cover medical treatment and a portion of lost earnings regardless of fault. A claim for pain and suffering arising from a motor vehicle collision must still satisfy the serious injury threshold in Insurance Law section 5102(d), which includes categories such as fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent limitation, and the 90 of 180 days standard.

Deadlines

• Most negligence claims carry a three year limit in New York.
• Wrongful death claims generally carry two years.
• Claims involving a public entity, including a public bus or a city vehicle, usually require a Notice of Claim within 90 days.

If you are involved in one

Report the collision, get medical attention, and note whether any automated feature was engaged and what the vehicle displayed at the time. Photograph the scene and the vehicles. Keep the make, model and model year of the other vehicle, because that determines which systems it carried.

This article is general information about New York law and not legal advice. Whether a technology related theory is worth pursuing depends entirely on the facts, the vehicle and the available data, and that assessment should come from a lawyer reviewing your specific situation.