As we move towards self-driving cars, one question we have not asked and explored is how long these cars last. Ford recently said that their self-driving cars have only lasted four years. However, most Americans do not have the means to afford a new car every four years. What responsibility does Ford or other automakers have to remove these vehicles from the road once they reach four years?
Will Self-Driving Cars Create More Economic Inequality?
The used vehicle market is how many Americans acquire their cars. Yet, what will happen when a self-driving car is three years old? Will someone be willing to obtain the car for the last year of service? Who should be held liable if the self-driving car is involved in a motor vehicle accident? Should it be the owner of the vehicle or the manufacturer? Will car insurance companies even cover a self-driving car when it gets older than four years? Will the federal or state governments subsidize the cost of these vehicles even though they might be priced above what a working family can afford?
Self-Driving Car Crashes
Since these vehicles are programmed by humans, the algorithm carries the implicit and explicit bias that the programmer has. We have seen how these cars fail to see black people. We have seen this same structural racism in facial recognition software and in risk assessments for parole and bail. As a Phoenix car accident lawyer, I am concerned that black pedestrians are going to be more at risk than other people because of this bias hard-coded into the vehicle.
In Arizona, a white woman was killed in a crash with a self-driving Uber vehicle. The woman, Elaine Herzberg, was crossing the street, and the car’s sensors did not identify her. She was housing insecure and might have been dressed in clothes that had been subjected to the elements for a longer period. Her skin most likely was darker due to exposure to the Arizona sun. Many Phoenix car accident attorneys are concerned about these self-driving cars because the Valley is ground-zero for this technology. Few acknowledge the racial disparity that this might cause and how it will affect Arizona’s black population.
What Can We Do?
We need activists to hold our elected lawmakers and the technology companies accountable for the bias in their products. It is unfair, unjust, and unacceptable that my daughter is at more risk of harm due to the color of her skin than the Governor’s daughter or granddaughter.
We must challenge auto manufacturers to make vehicles that can last longer than four years and keep our lawmakers from providing ridiculous handouts for people to purchase these vehicles. I know these vehicles can be an incredible product that improves the lives of older adults and people with disabilities. Yet, if these cars cannot see black children playing in the street, what good are they?
As an attorney, activist, and advocate, I want to ensure that we limit the number of Phoenix self-driving car accidents while providing a product that is sustainable, affordable, and accessible to all budgets.
