New Jersey residents may be curious about the reliability of driverless cars, and many might be worried about the potential for malfunctions and related car accidents. These concerns are well-founded as statistics are beginning to demonstrate a higher accident rate with such vehicles than with regular automobiles. Ironically, the efforts of developers and programmers to avoid accidents may be contributing to the problem.
Representatives of companies working with driverless vehicle development note that always following the rules of the road, as their cars are programmed to do, can be a problem that leads to more car accidents with their models. The accidents involving these cars are actually not the fault of the cars themselves. Rather, other motorists are crashing into these vehicles from behind because the driverless units are precisely following the rules of the road. This issue is connected to a serious concern with which programmers must grapple. In wanting to meet a high standard of quality, there is little room left for error, but human judgement sometimes warrants exceeding a speed limit or breaking other types of rules of the road to flow more efficiently with traffic while avoiding collisions.
As these ethics issues are addressed, some companies are working toward making their self-driven vehicles available to the public soon. Google is also attempting to make its models aggressive enough to synthesize with the flow of traffic. Authorities and developers agree that there is a significant need to learn about the vehicles as they are further tested and developed. To date, the accidents involving this type of vehicle have been minor in nature.
Any auto accident poses a risk of injury to those involved. An individual might not even be aware of an injury until days or weeks have passed. Although motor vehicle insurance often provides for medical treatment related to an auto accident, it may be important to obtain legal assistance if there are questions about an accident being connected to symptoms that surface at a later date.