"Legal and Insurance Preparations Must Begin Ahead of the Autonomous Vehicle Era"

The Commercialization of Autonomous Driving Approaches... Early Evacuation Needed
Driver Responsibility Decreases, Manufacturer Responsibility Expected to Increase
Measures to Resolve 'Responsibility Gap' Must Begin

Before the commercialization of autonomous vehicles, there is advice to preemptively organize legal systems and insurance related to accident liability.

On the 26th, Hyun-Ah Hwang, a research fellow at the Korea Insurance Research Institute, emphasized in the report "Issues and Tasks of Autonomous Vehicle Insurance" that "As the commercialization of Level 4 autonomous vehicles capable of unmanned driving approaches, it is necessary to review the issues and tasks of the autonomous vehicle insurance system."

This is because Level 3 (partial autonomous driving) personal passenger car sales are expected to begin domestically within this year, and Level 4 autonomous vehicles are anticipated to be commercialized by 2027.

In autonomous vehicle accidents, driver liability is expected to be significantly reduced or exempted compared to general car accidents. Instead, manufacturer liability will expand, and operator (owner) liability is analyzed to remain at a level similar to the current one. Therefore, Research Fellow Hwang pointed out that "the current insurance system, which is based on driver liability, may have gaps in liability and compensation in the event of autonomous vehicle accidents."

Specifically, in terms of driver liability, whether liability is established depends on the driver's negligence. There is concern that liability gaps may arise depending on specific circumstances such as whether the offending vehicle was an autonomous vehicle, whether it was operating in autonomous mode, whether the operating conditions were met during autonomous mode, and whether hacking or communication failures occurred. Even though manufacturer liability is expanding, it is unlikely to completely replace driver liability, so it is emphasized that these liability gaps must be addressed.

To this end, Research Fellow Hwang suggested considering expanding the scope of operator liability to include property damage accidents. He also added that it is necessary to consider including new responsible parties involved in unmanned autonomous vehicle operation within the insured parties under automobile insurance terms and conditions. He argued that separate coverage or special contracts should be prepared for hacking incidents as well.

Additionally, he mentioned measures such as calculating fault ratios reflecting the characteristics of autonomous vehicles and holding communication service providers liable for damages in autonomous vehicle accidents caused by communication failures.

Research Fellow Hwang emphasized, "More diverse and complex issues will arise during the preparation process for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles," and stressed that "it is necessary to review them proactively and comprehensively over a sufficient period."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.