We hear more and more about self-driving cars being tested worldwide. It’s such a new development that most motorists don’t know what to make of it. And how will car insurance companies deal with this new innovation?
DISCLAIMER
Car insurance is not straightforward, and we request that readers consider the following as information only. If you need any professional advice on a car insurance product, please contact a certified, financial advisor.
AVOID USING THE TERM ‘DRIVERLESS’ CAR
Just to clarify, the term ‘driverless’ cars and ‘self-driving’ cars seem to be used interchangeably. The term ‘driverless’ car is not quite correct, as such cars and ‘self-driving’ cars must still have a driver in them to monitor the driving process.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF HUMAN DRIVERS?
All kinds of innovative and technological changes in our present car design have still not managed to fully address all the risks when we drive. Drivers are human, and are prone to make mistakes, sometimes not being able to avoid an accident.
HOW CAN SELF-DRIVING CARS BE LESS RISKY?
Self-driving cars are programmed for a host of different situations on the road. They don’t have to be taught how to change bad driver behaviour, as would be the case with drivers.
Self-driving cars are equipped with many sensors that can spot any distant or nearby objects from any point of the car. Advanced computer software processes data coming from these sensors, and responds by safely guiding the car.
WHAT ARE THE CARS’S SENSORS LIKE?
Each sensor can detect everything around them, and can predict and respond to various impulses. Computer technology in self-driving cars is able to ‘learn’ how to address challenging scenarios.
WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF SELF-DRIVING CARS?
Some advantages that self-driving cars have are shown below.
NO HUMAN ERROR
Seeing most accidents are caused by human error, self-driving cars will stay resolutely focused on the driving experience, irrespective of what is going on. Computers can’t panic or become confused. Drivers do not have a constant guide near them telling them that they need to concentrate better.
CONSTANTLY ALERT
Drivers cannot maintain a high degree of alertness at all times, unlike self-driving cars. In addition, self-driving cars are extremely sensitive to the surrounding environment.
ELIMINATION OF OTHER FACTORS THAT CAUSE ACCIDENTS
Driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol or if tired are the major causes of accidents, these risks are eliminated by self-driving cars. .
DRIVERS WILL SAVE TIME AND MONEY
Think for a moment about the driver that spends two hours travelling to work every day. If such a person worked for 249 working days in 2017 in South Africa, at eight hours per day, it would be equivalent to him or her sitting behind the car wheel for a total of 62 working days. Imagine how much work such a commuter could do in 62 days, while being taken to work by a self-driving car?
NEW HORIZONS FOR THE DISABLED
Disabled persons will benefit enormously from self-driving cars, seeing they would no longer have to depend on public transport or other people.
WHAT ARE SOME DISADVANTAGES OF SELF-DRIVING CARS?
Some disadvantages of self-driving cars are shown below.
WEATHER CAN INTERFERE WITH LASERS AND SENSORS
Bad weather conditions can interfere with lasers and sensors, with disastrous consequences for occupants in self-driving cars.
DRIVER OF A SELF-DRIVING CAR NEEDS TRAINING
The ‘monitoring’ driver of a self-driving car needs to be trained in special GPS technology, despite the car being able to drive itself.
HACKERS COULD AFFECT SELF-DRIVING TECHNOLOGY
The self-driving technology of these cars could be vulnerable to hackers, who could potentially steal software.
THE SELF-DRIVEN CAR POSES LEGAL PRECEDENTS
Using a self-driven car can’t completely guarantee that accidents won’t ever happen. What happens if there is an accident? Who will be to blame? Will it be the car manufacturer, the driver, or the self-driving software company?
SELF-DRIVING CARS CAN’T RECOGNISE HUMAN SIGNALS
If a traffic light is not working, a self-driving car will not recognise hand signals.
WHAT ABOUT THE INACCURACY OF GPS DEVICES?
Any slight inaccuracy in GPS signals could make a self-driving car suddenly turn right into a non-existent ‘street’.
HOW WILL SELF-DRIVING CARS INFLUENCE CAR INSURANCE?
How will insurance claims fare when human error is effectively removed from driving? Road safety could drastically improve on our roads, thus possibly reducing claims.
Instead of focusing on driver error, insurers may have to concentrate on other aspects such as customer relationships, processing of claims, and product development.
WILL THERE BE A CHANGE IN PREMIUMS?
Premiums would be influenced by manufacturing faults, theft and cyber-hacking.
CLAIMS
In processing claims, who would be the one to blame? Although the accident frequency may have decreased, the severity of accidents may dramatically rise, due to replacing costly computer technology. Seeing a self-driven car is free from all human error, the responsible manufacturer would have to be held accountable.
These are interesting times for car insurers worldwide. Instead of insurers using risk profiles of drivers to determine premiums, they may have to focus on self-driving technology instead.
Disclaimer:
This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Prime Meridian Direct (Pty) Ltd, FSP41040 (car insurance and life cover products). The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.