On April 21, Law360 quoted Tod Northman in “Who’s Liable When Self-Driving Cars Crash?” Auto manufacturers already have their autonomous vehicles record information, but that information will play a big role in determining liability in the future as vehicles record even more data.

Tod said, “There’s going to be such micro-level information about what caused a crash that it’s going to change litigation more than, ‘Who has liability?'”

Commenting on a recent fatal crash involving a Tesla that may have been operating in full self-driving mode prior to the crash, Tod said, “The visibility and, if the investigators’ initial conclusion prove out, senselessness of this accident could well spur President Biden’s administration to push the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to do more than ‘monitor’ the new technology. The industry – or at least parts of it – may well support greater regulation of AV deployment.”

Read the article here.