Drivers Who Aren’t, But Who Gets The Bill?

Another auto-piloted Tesla has crashed into another car—two cars, actually—last month. The Tesla’s “driver” (in quotes to ironize the obvious) was reportedly “checking on his dog” in the back seat when his car rammed into a Connecticut State Police cruiser and then ping-ponged into another car that was parked on the shoulder of the road.

Several interesting questions come to mind, again.

Including one probable inevitability that hasn’t been much discussed but which will eventually affect all of us, including those of us who prefer to be drivers rather than meat sacks driven around by autopiloted (and glaucomic) cars.

The first question is: Who’s responsible for these crashes?

Is it the “driver” who uses technology specifically designed to avoid the need for him or her to drive? Or is it the company which designed the technology that—its protestations and lawyer-ese notwithstanding— encourages the “driver” to abdicate esponsibility for driving the car?