This fascinating podcast with Professor Bryant Walker Smith provides great insight into the legal issues surrounding autonomous driving. The session begins with an overview of the state of autonomous driving. We discuss how autonomous passenger vehicles differ from autonomous trucking. We also explore the additional human resources that will be required to ensure that autonomous vehicles are operated in a safe manner.

The following are among the issues discussed during the podcast:

• Which regulatory authorities need to approve autonomous vehicles? How does the governing regulatory framework vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction?
• Who bears liability if an autonomous vehicle is responsible for an auto accident?
• What might be the impact on insurance premiums as autonomous vehicles are more widely diffused?
• To what extent might drivers and accident lawyers oppose autonomous driving?
• What are the risks of cyberattacks on autonomous driving?
• Are EVs or combustion engine vehicles more likely to become the dominant autonomous platforms?
• Will autonomous vehicles weigh more or less than human operated vehicles?
• How will the answer impact the fatality of accidents and the infrastructure?

About Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith is an associate professor in the School of Law and (by courtesy) the School of Engineering at the University of South Carolina, as well as an affiliate scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.

Trained as a lawyer and an engineer, Smith advises cities, states, countries, and the United Nations on emerging transport technologies. He coauthored the globally influential levels of driving automation, drafted a model law for automated driving, and taught the first legal course dedicated to automated driving (in 2012). Smith is currently writing on what it means for a company to be trustworthy. His publications are available at newlypossible.org.