| dc.description.abstract | With the rapid development of autonomous driving technology, autonomous vehicles (AVs) are gradually becoming the trend of future transportation. However, as technology advances, legal issues have also emerged, particularly in the field of tort liability. Since autonomous vehicles primarily rely on artificial intelligence systems and related software for driving operations instead of traditional human drivers, determining the responsible party in the event of a traffic accident involving autonomous vehicles has become a highly challenging legal issue. Whether the existing tort law and product liability law can address these situations and ensure fair distribution of liability and protection of victims′ rights has become a critical topic for legal scholars and practitioners.
Traditionally, tort liability is usually determined based on the fault of the driver. However, as autonomous driving technology advances to Level 4 or Level 5 under the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards, the role of human drivers is gradually being replaced by autonomous driving systems. In such cases, the traditional fault-based tort liability framework becomes increasingly inapplicable. When a vehicle no longer relies on a human driver for control but instead operates autonomously, the driver′s role is reduced to merely setting routes or intervening in emergency situations. The extent of their actual involvement in driving is significantly diminished. At this stage, if we continue to assign liability solely based on the traditional driver-centered fault theory, it may fail to resolve the issue of liability allocation effectively and may even lead to situations where victims have no recourse for compensation.
In highly automated autonomous vehicle accidents, liability is gradually shifting from the driver’s tort liability to the product liability of the manufacturer. Nevertheless, the manufacturing process of autonomous vehicles is highly complex. When an accident is caused by a defect in the product, determining the liable party becomes more complicated. This is precisely the issue that this paper aims to address.
This paper analyzes the current tort law systems in the United States and Taiwan, discussing how liability should be distributed in autonomous vehicle accidents and whether there is a need to modify the existing legal framework to adapt to technological changes. | en_US |