Volvo accepts “full liability” if autonomous cars crash

Volvo has just made, arguably, one of the biggest statements in regards to the field of autonomous driving in the United States – the Swedish car manufacturer has announced that it will “accept full liability whenever one if its cars is in autonomous mode”.

According to The Truth About Cars, the statement was made by none other than Volvo Cars president and CEO, Håkan Samuelsson, mere days after the marque launched its Drive Me autonomous project. Said project will witness a total of 100 Volvo XC90 models equipped with the marque’s Intellisafe Auto Pilot autonomous driving system take to the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The prototype vehicles are said to employ a “production-viable” autonomous platform with an array of sensors, cloud-based positioning systems and intelligent braking and steering capabilities. Volvo has boldly claimed that the network of computers onboard are sophisticated enough to take over every aspect of driving.

During a recent seminar in the US, Samuelsson stated that while the nation is amongst the more progressive ones in terms of allowing autonomous vehicles on its roads, varying rules laid down by the individual states continue to pose an obstacle. “The US risks losing its leading position due to the lack of federal guidelines for the testing and certification of autonomous vehicles,” commented Samuelsson.

“The absence of one set of rules means car makers cannot conduct credible tests to develop cars that meet all the different guidelines of all 50 US states,” he added. “If we are to ensure a smooth transition to autonomous mobility then together we must create the necessary framework that will support this.”

GALLERY: Volvo Intellisafe Auto Pilot technology

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