On the Redesign of Accident Liability for the World of Autonomous Vehicles / Steven Shavell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shavell, Steven.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w26220.

NBER working paper series no. w26220

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2019.

Summary:

This article studies a model of liability for automobile accidents in the coming world in which automobiles will be autonomous. In that world, travelers will not be drivers, rendering liability premised on driver fault irrelevant as a means of reducing accident dangers. Moreover, no other conventional principle of individual or of manufacturer liability would serve well to do so. Indeed, in the model considered, strict manufacturer liability, recommended by many commentators, would actually tend to leave accident risks unchanged from their levels in the absence of liability. However, a new form of strict liability--the hallmark of which is that damages would be paid to the state--would be superior to conventional rules of liability in alleviating accident risks and would be easy to administer.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2019.