General Motors recently stated in an interview with the Detroit News, that GM will stand behind GM’s autonomous vehicles GM puts on the road. http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2017/04/17/self-driving/100552298/.
Specifically, GM was quoted in the Detroit News:
“There are 100 years of legal precedent, we don’t see any reason that should be changed for Autonomous vehicles. We stand behind our product. Just like we stand behind our products we put on the road today we still stand behind our autonomous vehicles we put on the road today”
The Safe Autonomous Vehicles (SAVe) Campaign challenged Ford and Fiat-Chrysler to do what GM and Volvo, have publically declared and stand behind its Products. SAVe set a deadline of May 15 for the companies’ responses. Neither Ford nor Fiat-Chrysler responded. Neither company agreed to be accountable for failures in their technology.
Earlier this year, SAVe challenged executives from Audi, BMW, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Land Rover, Lyft, Nissan, Porsche, Tesla, Toyota, Uber, and VW to pledge to take responsibility for accidents caused by technology failure in ALL autonomous (robot) vehicles. The campaign set a deadline of March 15 for the companies’ responses. None of the companies agreed to be accountable for failures in their technology.
“To be clear: Our campaign supports the development of autonomous vehicle technology,” said national SAVe Campaign spokesperson—and motor vehicle accident victims’ advocate—Jeremy Warriner. “We believe self-driving cars may be one of the most significant technological developments of our lifetime. They promise enormous benefit for consumers, IF manufacturers establish concrete transparency and accountability standards.”
Warriner, a survivor of a near-fatal car accident that required the amputation of both legs above the knee, praised Volvo for its industry-leading promise of accountability for SAE Level 4 and 5 vehicles, while pushing automakers to go even further. “The companies we’ve challenged pride themselves on safety and reliability. No manufacturer will want to be known as the risky choice in self-driving cars—or as the company who won’t stand behind its product.”
The SAVe Campaign (SAVe) is a national project to educate the general public, opinion-leaders, and policymakers about the importance of ensuring that automakers take responsibility for their autonomous technology. SAE International’s levels 2-5 range from partial to full automation. SAVe will be working with its partners to share the following chart of the auto company responses to date. For research on self-driving vehicles and a list of coalition partners, visit www.savecampaign.org.