Abstract
The advent of self-driving cars marks a significant technological leap in the transportation industry, promising substantial advancements in road safety, efficiency, and traffic management. This blog examines the current status, challenges, and potential legal implications of integrating autonomous vehicles into the Indian transportation system. As highlighted, self-driving cars have been envisioned since the mid-20th century, with technological advancements accelerating their development. The blog outlines the existing legislative landscape governed by the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, noting their limitations in addressing the complexities introduced by autonomous vehicles. The primary legal challenge revolves around determining liability in accidents involving self-driving cars. The analysis includes a comparative study of international precedents, particularly the United Kingdom’s Automated and Electric Vehicles Act, 2018, and Germany’s 2017 legislation for automated vehicles. These frameworks offer valuable insights into how India can structure its regulations to balance innovation with safety and accountability
Introduction
The invention of self driving cars has had a profound impact on the Transportation industry. This technological leap has been adjoined with the imminent necessity to address the essential needs and concerns regarding road safety and traffic congestion. Sebastian Thrun, a former director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-inventor of Google Street View noted that Self-driving cars will save lives, save time, and save fuel. The prospect of a more secure and effective transportation network has sparked a great deal of research and development in the area of driverless cars. The very first wheel and axle vehicles were used in around 3500 BC, from here people went on to domesticate animals to help move the wheeled vehicles. From there the inventions in transportation grew to introduce cycles, carriages, steamboats, submarines, even hot air balloons. From travelling on foot we have come a long way and today, even space travel is possible. The idea of autonomous vehicles has been around for quite a while, one of the very first proposals was from Norman Bel Geddes, an American theatrical and industrial designer and futurist. In 1940 he published a book called “Magic Motorways” in which he envisioned an automated highway system where cars would be controlled by radio signals embedded in the roadways. This early vision laid the foundation ideas for what we now call autonomous vehicles or self driving vehicles. Tesla, the world’s most valuable car company, announced that they will enter the Indian market, and in January 2021 they registered themselves with an office in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The concern as of now is not whether self-driving cars are fit for Indian roads, but whether Indian laws are ready to tackle problems associated with self-driving cars.[1] With no human at the wheel, a self-driving car needs smart eyes, sensors that’ll receive information about the road or obstacles ahead, its size, shape and position so that its control algorithm can plot the safest route. The car has to follow this no matter the environment, weather, or how dark it is all in a split second. For this purpose LiDAR is used. LiDAR stands for light detection and ranging, it uses a narrow invisible infrared laser it is a special kind of laser based probe which helps the car to detect the objects in its way. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988[2] and the Consumer Protection Act, 1986[3] are the two major laws that govern motor vehicles in India. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, governs the minimum age for driving a car, as well as the vehicle’s liability and registration. On the other hand, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, regulates damages arising from negligence, industrial errors, construction defects, and unfair trading practices. India’s stance on self-driving cars and the laws surrounding them are currently in a developmental phase. India is actively exploring the development of autonomous vehicles, with several companies and research institutions working on various aspects of the technology. However, fully autonomous vehicles are not yet operational on Indian roads.[4]
Laws on Automated Vehicles
One of the primary legal challenges posed by self-driving cars is determining liability in the event of an accident. Standard liability model is mainly based on the negligence of the driver of the vehicle but in the case of autonomous vehicles the blame is shifted from the driver to the manufacturers, software developers and even municipal authorities. If an autonomous vehicle causes a grave accident due to a software or hardware malfunction then the burden of proof is on the shoulders of the manufacturers that is why manufacturers require robust evidence that the AV operated as intended and met all safety standards. However in the month of July of the year 2018 the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act was passed in the United Kingdom. Section 2(2) of the statute states that:
Liability of insurers etc where accident caused by automated vehicle
Where-
(a) an accident is caused by an automated vehicle when driving itself on a road or other public place in Great Britain,
the owner of the vehicle is liable for that damage.[5]
This is notable as it explicitly states that when an accident is caused by an automated car, the owner of the vehicle is liable for the accident. The same principle applies when a death is caused by an automated car.[6] Further, Section 4 of this act specifically states that if an autonomous car is insured and the accident is caused because of unauthorised software updates or failure to update the software, the liability of the insurer decreases. But this Act does not address the issue of liability of the autonomous car company which has developed the car and the AI system. So, in short, all liability lies on the owner even if there is a fault of the AI. This pounding of liability creates multiple problems not only on the owner, but also in the process of administration of justice. Germany has been at the forefront of legislating for autonomous vehicles. In 2017, Germany passed a law allowing self-driving cars to operate on public roads, making it one of the first countries to do so. The law specifies that in the event of an accident involving a self-driving car, the manufacturer will bear liability if the accident was caused by a technical failure or software error. However, if the human driver was supposed to take over control and failed to do so in time, the driver would be held liable. This dual approach ensures that both manufacturers and drivers share responsibility, depending on the circumstances of the accident.
The introduction of autonomous vehicles also changes the dimensions of vehicle insurance. Autonomy is not economically viable in India currently as driver costs per kilometre is too low. However, investing in the suite of autonomous vehicle technologies and exporting such vehicles represents a significant economic opportunity for India and since the same technologies can play a large role in reducing fatalities and decreasing congestion, it would be wise for Indian manufacturers to invest in research and development of the broader suite of technologies that are essential for assistive AI. These technologies can assist the driver by taking driving decisions which the system has a high degree of confidence in and alerting the driver in case it has a low degree of confidence in any decision.[7]
Levels of automation
- Partial automation (level 2)
- Conditional automation (level 3)
- High automation (level 4)
- Full automation (level 5)
How can India develop laws
Germany had passed the very first legislation for automated vehicles in the year 2017 where it only allowed level 3 and level 4 of automated vehicles then after gradual testing it deployed level 5 fully automated vehicles in 2021. India could follow Germany’s footsteps and gradually introduce automated cars through legislation. The stakeholder participation in the German legislations were quite high as it included automotive manufacturers, public interest groups and technological companies. India can ensure a balanced and inclusive approach to the making of legislation which has multiple stakeholders. Germany has installed strict safety measures such as black box recordings in order to have solid evidence of liability in case of an accident. There is a dual approach and unlike the laws in the United Kingdom the driver would not be held liable if the accident is caused by a software failure. While drafting these laws the lawmakers in India should keep in mind about the traffic conditions in India which includes mixed traffic, unexpected pedestrian crossing and variability in road quality. There are also regional variations in different states in India so the laws should be suitable for all the states. A need for proper legislation with proper demarcation of liability is necessary as India is at the pinnacle in road accidents where annually 4.5 lakh road crashes happen in which at least 1.5 lakh people die. A recent report of the World Bank states that India has1% of the world’s total vehicles but contributes 11% to global deaths in road accidents. With such horrifying statistics, if India allows autonomous cars to run on the roads without proper legislation, it will be a catastrophe.
Conclusion
Self driving cars have the potential to revolutionise the transportation sector in India which could potentially enhance safety and which might prevent deaths due to road accidents, it could also provide mobility to various segments of the population. However India is in a need for a strong legal framework to establish safer autonomous vehicles and legislations with dual approaches to impose liabilities. India should also make an effort to encourage an inclusive creation of legislations which has multiple stakeholders
[1] Self-Driving Cars And India: A Call For Inclusivity Under The Indian Legal Position
[2] The Motor Vehicles Act, Gazette of India (1988)
[3] The Consumer Protection Act, Gazette of India (1986)
[4] Ministry of Road Transport and Highways – Autonomous Vehicles
[5] Automated and Electric Vehicles Act, 2018
[6] Self driving Cars and India
[7] National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (2018)
This blog is authored by Manjumol R S, a student of KIIT School of Law