Driverless cars and the determination of the manufacturer’s liability for injuries: is India ready?

ABSTRACT India’s endeavour of becoming a leader in shared mobility indicates that it could soon follow suit in becoming one of the leading driverless car markets across the globe. The paper critically analyses the state of India’s current liability laws on automobile-related injuries in a comparative context. It examines whether their extension to technology-based automobiles such as driverless cars may be feasible – particularly considering that accidents involving their operation are likely to be attributable to malfunctions in the software or hardware of these vehicles. Accordingly, it highlights some challenges that existing laws may pose in deterring manufacturers from expanding their markets in India. The paper refers to the approaches of some major economies such as Germany, China, South Korea and the UK and proposes workable solutions that Indian legislators may employ to resolve the predicaments that the extension of existing legal principles to disputes arising from accidents involving driverless cars may cause.