[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Quotes from a brand new March 2018 report called AUTOMATED VEHICLES: LIABILITY CRASH COURSE

In re Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration—or commonly known as “the Toyota Unintended Acceleration Litigation” (Toyota UA litigation)1 demonstrates that product liability litigation costs can be enormous and could bankrupt even well-established players in the industry, or, at a minimum, cause a major, multi-billion-dollar loss to a company.

The product liability industry in the United States should not be underestimated, as automobiles are among the most-litigated products. More importantly, from a technological complexity point of view, the Toyota case is a microcosm of what could transpire in a typical product liability claim against an automated driving system (ADS), and it can be used as a benchmark to conclude that the costs of litigating such a case would be extreme.

It is important to note that under the current liability framework, a “manufacturer” is not limited to the manufacturer of the complete automobile—everyone in the supply chain is potentially liable.

Consumer acceptance of automated vehicles is mixed, as has been shown in J.D. Power research since 2012, with 47% of respondents saying they “definitely” or “probably would” ride in a fully automated vehicle and 46% saying they “definitely” or “probably would not.”

[autonomous driving system] technologies and vehicles should not anticipate relief from civil liability under the current framework for federal preemption set out by the Motor Vehicle Safety Act

As the automotive industry is undergoing the most significant transformation in its 130-year history, new legal liability challenges emerge. In addition to gaining consumers’ trust in the technology, the successful deployment of ADS is contingent on the ability to effectively deal with the legal liabilities when an ADS accident occurs.

Potentially troubling for carmakers is that the percentage of younger people, those most likely to use autonomous vehicles in the future, who said they'd seek litigation was higher than that of older generations -- 62 percent of Generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2014, said they would pursue litigation, compared with 53 percent of baby boomers.