Research On Tort Liability For Autonomous Vehicles

On the basis of a brief introduction of the basic concepts of artificial intelligence and the definition and classification of autonomous vehicles,this paper mainly reviews the four types of liability modes of tort liability of autonomous vehicles,namely driver's liability,automobile owner's liability,product liability and employer's liability,and elaborates and analyzes several controversial issues in detail.The core point of this paper is that the framework of compulsory liability insurance for autonomous vehicles can provide timely and sufficient protection for victims through the social sharing system of damages.Therefore,we should establish the rule of paying liability insurance premium first when damage occurs.When the damages exceed the limit of liability insurance or the insurance company subrogation,the final distribution of damages should be carried out under the framework of dangerous liability.The risk liability mode applicable to autonomous vehicles should change with the improvement of automation level and industrial form of autonomous vehicles.The traditional "product responsibility+driver responsibility mode" can be used as a solution for the automation level of autonomous vehicles L3 and below.With the improvement of automation degree of motor vehicles,the main body of drivers disappears,and the main source of danger is gradually changed from the driving behavior of motor vehicle drivers to the product defects of automatic driving system.It will lack justice to continue to pursue the responsibility of motor vehicle drivers,and it will also lead to insufficient condemnation of auto-driving automobile manufacturers.Therefore,we can consider "the owner of a motor vehicle" as the main body of traffic accident liability of a self-driving automobile,and stipulate that the owner of the self-driving automobile and the manufacturer of the self-driving automobile or system bear unreal joint liability,and the traffic accident victim can claim compensation from both the owner of the automobile and the manufacturer of the self-driving automobile or system.If the accident is caused by a product defect,the owner of the car can claim compensation from the manufacturer of the self-driving car or system after being liable for compensation.The existing imputation model of "product liability" has some problems in defect identification and causality identification of automatic driving system,so it should be adjusted accordingly.Selfdriving car safety officer,as an improvement scheme for self-driving manufacturers to improve product safety performance,brings the employer's responsibility which is essentially an extension of product responsibility.