What happens when a self-driving (autonomous) vehicle breaks the law? Good question. Law governing self-driving vehicles is lagging behind the development of the vehicles but some portions of settled law can be readily applied to the new circumstances.

Who Pays The Ticket?

The easy answer is that the renter or individual of the vehicle pays those tickets for which they are responsible. Just like with rental vehicles, the renter is responsible for speeding tickets and parking violations and death or injuries while driving. The same is true for personally owned vehicles. Your vehicle is parked illegally? The ticket is sent to you. Your rental car is parked illegally? The ticket is sent to the rental company and they charge your credit card or send you a bill.

On the other hand, the situation is somewhat more complicated with autonomous vehicles because the renter or individual owner may have limited control of specific actions of the vehicle. It's fairly obvious who's at fault when the renter/owner engages an override to exceed the speed limit or instructs the vehicle to park in a loading zone. The renter/owner is.

Blue Screen of Death

But what about situations where a faulty algorithm causes the transgression? Is the manufacturer responsible? Is the rental company responsible? Is the renter responsible? It depends. In most cases, the renter shouldn't be liable, but establishing liability is a tricky process.

And the renter/individual owner is the least powerful party to the transaction.

Historically, auto manufacturers routinely denied fault for mechanical defects and usually got away with it. While recalls are far more common now than in the past, anyone that's used computer software knows how difficult it is to hold technology companies similarly responsible for flaws in their products. If you've used Microsoft Windows PCs, you may be familiar with BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), something that has plagued computers for many decades. Microsoft still denies responsibility.

Algorithms are software. It will prove as tricky to assign fault to them as it does to hold Microsoft or Apple or other tech companies responsible for their software.

It's All in the Contract

When you rent a vehicle, whether it's a traditional vehicle or a self-driving vehicle, the contract you sign with the rental company is paramount. Here are typical clauses that assign liability to the renter and mandate binding arbitration:

• You’ll pay all fines, penalties and court costs for parking, traffic, toll and other
  violations, including storage liens and charges. You will also pay a reasonable administrative fee with respect to any violation of the Agreement.
• You shall defend, indemnify, and hold us, our parent and affiliated companies harmless from all losses, liabilities, damages, injuries, claims, demands, awards, costs, attorney fees, and other expenses incurred by us in any manner from the Agreement, rental
  transaction or from the use of the car by you or any person, including claims of, or liabilities to, third parties.
• Except as otherwise provided, all disputes between you and us arising out of, relating to or in connection with your rental of a car shall be exclusively settled through binding arbitration. YOU AGREE THAT ANY SUCH ARBITRATION SHALL BE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

Expect to see similar clauses in any rental or purchase agreement governing self-driving cars.

What Happens Next?

Traffic law, liability law, and contract law will (mostly) catch up with the technology used in autonomous vehicles over the next two or three decades. Until then, caveat emptor.