Audi confirms acceptance of liability in self-driving car accidents

Audi has recently announced that it will take full responsibility in case one of its autonomous cars is involved in an accident. This move follows Volvo’s announcement in 2015 to accept full liability if one of its autonomous, self-driving cars crashes.

The announcement was made by Audi’s boss of pre-development of automated driving, Dr Thorsten Leonhardt, during an event in Germany that showcased the 2018 Audi A8’s Level 3 autonomous driving technology.

Leonhardt was quoted saying, “When the function is operated as intended, if the customer turns the traffic jam pilot on and uses it as intended, and if the car was in control at the time of the accident, the driver goes to his insurance company and the insurance company will compensate the victims of the accident and in the aftermath they come to us and we have to pay them.”

Audi’s AI Traffic Jam Pilot system is expected to be offered on Euro-spec A8s and is the market’s first SAE Level 3 autonomous system to roll out. The self-driving system can be used on highways and multi-lane roads where a physical barrier separates oncoming traffic. The system is also advanced enough to be used in bumper-to-bumper traffic scenarios with speeds up to 60kph.