自动驾驶汽车侵权责任研究

Research on tort liability of autonomous vehicle

As a new product developed by artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles have brought more convenient and intelligent driving experience to our lives, but the traffic accidents caused by them have brought many challenges to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code on the liability of motor vehicle traffic accidents, and caused many problems in technology, safety, privacy and other aspects. It also poses an unprecedented challenge to motor vehicle traffic accident liability, product liability and the principle of liability under the condition of competition and cooperation between them. The original model of “driver responsibility + product responsibility” was broken, the focus of accountability gradually shifted to product responsibility, and the cause of accidents gradually shifted from human fault to the defects of the vehicle itself. Compared with the traditional liability for motor vehicle traffic accidents, the identification of infringement subjects, causality, liability division and other elements of autonomous vehicle accidents pose challenges. At this time, it is not only necessary to use traditional traffic accident handling rules to regulate improper operation of drivers, but also to use strict product liability to punish product defects and promote continuous technological innovation of enterprises. It is urgent to explore a new path to regulate traffic accidents of autonomous vehicles on the basis of existing laws and regulations.

作为人工智能发展的新型产品，自动驾驶汽车为我们生活带来了更便捷、智能的驾驶体验，但其引发的交通事故对我国《民法典》机动车交通事故责任相关规定带来许多挑战，在技术、安全、隐私等方面引发了诸多问题，也对机动车交通事故责任、产品责任及二者发生竞合情况下的归责原则提出前所未有的挑战。原有的“驾驶员责任+产品责任的”归责模式被打破，追责的重心逐渐向产品责任转移，事故发生的原因也逐步由人的过错转移到车辆自身的缺陷问题。相较于传统的机动车交通事故责任，自动驾驶汽车事故侵权主体认定、因果关系、责任划分等多个要件认定带来挑战，此时不仅需要用传统的交通事故处理规则来对驾驶员操作不当进行规制，还应利用严格的产品责任惩戒产品缺陷，推动企业持续科技创新。急需以现有的法律法规为基础，探索自动驾驶汽车交通事故规制新路径。