Self-driving cars are starting to hit the roads in Texas, and their numbers will only increase. While many people argue that autonomous vehicles will improve road safety, they will not eliminate car accidents. In fact, when a self-driving car accident occurs, you might face complicated insurance claims and a higher likelihood of litigation. Below, we explain how to protect yourself after a self-driving car accident. 

While it seemed unlikely a decade ago, self-driving cars are now a reality. At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), almost every major auto manufacturer announced new self-driving vehicles. Lyft, the popular ride sharing app, used self-driving cars to transport CES attendees, and Pizza Hut displayed self-driving pizza delivery vans. More importantly, GM announced that it hopes to launch up to 2,600 self-driving vehicles in the United States in 2019. These vehicles would be fully autonomous and lack common driver systems like a steering wheel, brakes, and gas pedal. 

In response to these advances, the federal government is beginning to regulate autonomous vehicles. The U.S. House of Representatives already passed the AV START Act with bipartisan support, and the Senate is expected to pass its version in 2018. The AV START Act, if passed, will: 

• Permit auto manufacturers to request exemptions from existing federal safety requirements, such as the presence of a steering wheel 
• Allow a staged introduction of self-driving vehicles into the U.S. market: 15,000 in year one and up to 80,000 in year three 
• Empower the NHTSA to issue self-driving car rules within 10 years 

However, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the safety of self-driving cars.

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