Hit by an Autonomous or Driver-Assist Vehicle

When the other vehicle was driving itself, look past the driver

When the vehicle that hit you was operating itself, through self-driving, automatic lane change, lane-keeping, or even remote driving, your case can look very different from an ordinary crash. The person behind the wheel may be only one part of the picture, and in some situations may not have been in control at all.

When a vehicle was driving itself at the moment of impact, responsibility may extend well beyond the other driver and their insurance. Depending on the facts, the questions can reach the company that built the vehicle, the company that designed its self-driving software or system, or even a third party such as a road contractor whose poorly marked or confusing lane lines misled the vehicle’s sensors. These are questions every one of these cases raises, not conclusions, and this area of law is still developing.

Answering those questions usually means pulling and analyzing the vehicle’s onboard data, the event data recorder, sensor logs, and system records that many people think of as the car’s “black box.” That data can show what the system detected, what it decided to do, and whether a person or the software was driving at the moment of the crash. Most firms never request or examine it. We believe these cases demand it.

Looking past the driver to the data can reveal more sources of available coverage than the at-fault driver’s policy alone. We cannot promise any particular result, and no one honestly can in an area of law this new. What we can tell you is that we ask these questions and chase this evidence, while most firms stop at the driver’s insurance card.