Can I Go To Jail If My Self-Driving Car Hits a Pedestrian?

If there was ever proof that laws must continually evolve to meet the times, it’s the laws surrounding self-driving cars. Cars have been around for more than a century. We have more than 100 years of laws concerning liability and what sort of recklessness will garner criminal charges. Owners and passengers of self-driving cars, however, are in new territory.

Can an owner or passenger in a self-driving car face criminal responsibility should their vehicle hit a pedestrian? The laws for this will vary from state to state. When it’s time for prosecutors to determine whether to bring criminal charges against the operator of the vehicle, they will look at all the circumstances surrounding the incident.

If you were the operator of a self-driving car and are potentially facing criminal charges because your self-driving car injured someone, the best thing you can do is hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who knows the laws in your area.

Self-Driving Cars: The Basics

Self-driving cars, also called autonomous vehicles, are equipped with technology that allows them to drive without a human behind the wheel. But letting the car drive does not alleviate you from all responsibility. In fact, the new technology adds more responsibility to the driver, especially regarding safety.

In traditional car accidents with traditional drivers, you would usually be responsible if you hit a pedestrian unless the pedestrian violated some law governing pedestrians. If you did not hit the pedestrian on purpose or while chemically altered, the likelihood is that you would not go to jail.

However, civil liability dictates that you or your insurance company would have to pay something to the injured pedestrian to compensate them for the damage caused by your careless actions.

Self-Driving Cars and Criminal Liability

Standard laws of personal injury, pedestrian accidents, wrongful death, and car insurance will often govern this scenario. You will likely go to court, but it will be a civil lawsuit for an accident, and your insurance company will likely defend you.

In some instances, however, if you hit a pedestrian, you could go to jail if your negligence rose to the level of criminal negligence. If you were under the influence of alcohol, going extremely fast, or otherwise being reckless, you could face criminal liability.

In a self-driving accident, prosecutors can consider whether traditional crimes were also at issue. These are crimes for which you might face prosecution regardless of whether you controlled the vehicle at the time of the act:

• Driving without a driver’s license
• Driving under the influence
• Hit-and-run
• Leaving the scene of an accident
• Driving while on a cell phone

In the case of self-driving cars, criminal liability would depend on the circumstances. The car manufacturer might have installed something wrong. The software programmer might have made a mistake. Or you might have acted carelessly.

It all depends on what caused the accident. Was there a glitch in the car’s system? If so, what system? The engine or the navigation system? Were you driving through an area where you were supposed to be in control of the car at that time? Were you reckless in ignoring safety warnings from the vehicle? Answers to these questions will play a significant role in determining whether you face jail time.

It also depends on where the accident happened. Every state has its own laws concerning regular automobiles, liability, and criminal liability. Some states might be stricter with self-driving cars, while others might be more lenient. States are still working on, arguing about, and formulating their laws about self-driving cars. The best advice on how your state handles will come from a local attorney. Some states may not even have a law with which to charge you.

Can You Go to Jail?

If you hit a pedestrian and investigators determine that you did so because of a flaw in the car and you did everything exactly how you should have, it is unlikely that you will go to jail. However, if you hit a pedestrian in a certain area where you should expect to see vulnerable pedestrians and signs alerting operators of self-driving cars to take control, you could be responsible. Or if you tampered with the car’s system or disengaged some safety features to make the car go faster, you might also be held responsible.

If the motor vehicle was on autopilot and you hit a pedestrian and could not get the car to stop, that might qualify as a hit-and-run. Hit-and-run accidents can lead to severe criminal consequences.

Whether your disregard for the evolving standards of self-driving cars warrants criminal prosecution will depend on the circumstances. Did you go through a red light? Was the pedestrian in a crosswalk, or was the pedestrian jaywalking? Was it a fatal accident? Any one of these, coupled with your human error or recklessness, could make a misdemeanor rise to the level of vehicular manslaughter.

And, of course, if you do get arrested, police and prosecutors must respect all your Constitutional rights. While laws evolve, the safeguards the Constitution provides should always be there to protect you.

Your Responsibility

As a self-driving car operator, you enjoy new technologies and luxuries. But you also still have responsibilities. Doing the following will minimize the possibility of criminal liability:

• Follow all the guidelines the manufacturer gives you.
• Stay informed about updates to your local laws about self-driving cars.
• Stay informed about updates to your car’s operating and navigation systems.

If you have hit a pedestrian with a self-driving car, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney right away so they can begin giving you legal advice, collecting evidence, and preparing your defense. In addition to knowing the laws, they will be able to assess your case, assess the strength of the prosecutor’s case, devise the best defense strategy for you, and advocate for you. Most importantly, they will work hard and use their expertise to keep you out of jail.