Personal Injury Lawyer | Self-Driving Cars Safe?
Personal Injury Lawyer | Self-Driving Cars Safe?
Personal Injury Lawyer | How Safe Are Self-Driving Cars
Personal injury lawyers have taken notice of all the talk circulating through the media concerning self-driving cars, and it leaves most of them wondering how it will affect safety while driving on California roads. Currently, personal injury lawyers are divided in their assessments, and each side of the argument presents several valid points. One point that is certainly understood by all: At this time, self-driving cars are not as safe as traditional cars are. However, this does not mean that the same will be true five years down the road.
Self-Driving Cars to Save Lives
The technology for fully automated motor vehicles has been in development for several years, and its purpose is to reduce the number of accidents that may require the assistance of a personal injury lawyer. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 32,600 people died as a result of car crashes in 2014, and driver error is said to have been responsible for 90 percent of these accidental deaths.
An experienced personal injury lawyer will explain that the causes of accidents that could potentially be reduced or eliminated by self-driving cars include drunk driving, distracted driving, improper lane changes and failure to yield. Experts in automotive robotics believe that self-driving cars will eventually reduce fatalities and injuries on the road by 95 percent to 99 percent.
Although new safety systems, such as vehicle-detection and pedestrian-detection systems, have been available for a few years and have been proven to reduce accidents, fully automated vehicles are still in the testing phase. Google’s self-driving car has been experiencing about 10 times the accidents of human-driven vehicles, but so far, they have not been serious.
All of the accidents in Google’s testing city, Mountain View, California, were reported as minor fender benders that caused no injuries, and all of them occurred at speeds of 5 mph or less. Google, Cadillac, Nissan and other companies currently testing self-driving cars have noted that they will be safer as technology improves and as more automated cars are on the roads. Some models are expected to go on sale as soon as 2017.
Since 1989, the personal injury lawyers of Clekis Law Firm have been representing injured people and their families in Charleston and throughout the Low Country. At the Clekis Law Firm our clients always come first. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious personal injury due to the negligence of another, don’t be victimized twice. You need someone on your side to help you with your personal injury case and obtain the fair and reasonable compensation that you deserve. Call Clekis at 843.779.1160!
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