Toronto, Ontario -- When I read articles or overhear conversations about Advanced Driver Assistance System repairs, there’s one thought that immediately jumps to mind: liability.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not concerned about the ability of my colleagues in the collision repair sector and their capacity to repair these systems. After all, they have spent huge amounts of money on specialist training and equipment to affect a safe repair.
No, the one thing that really worries me is liability. With repairers having spent huge amounts of money on specialist training and equipment, you would think that in every scenario they would be prepared and safe. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Before the humanoid robots take over complex tasks, artificial intelligence will be aiding us. Before the tech savvy raise up in arms and call for my head, let me say, I am not a luddite. I embrace technology, but the fact remains that we must sprinkle a little reality dust over some of the issues said technology brings.
It’s a repeated fact that vehicles fitted with ADAS features are not without their shortcomings. They can cause collisions due to system failures, resulting in injuries, even fatalities straight from the factory. Even a vehicle that is ‘factory fresh’ can suffer a technology malfunction and contribute to an accident.
In June 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States of America reported 392 crashes nationally involving Level 2 driver-assist systems, which include features like adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance. Of these incidents, six resulted in fatalities, and by April 2024, a three-year NHTSA investigation into a single manufacturer system identified that it had contributed to at least 467 collisions, including 13 fatal accidents.
While we have no data to confirm if any of these vehicles had previously been involved in an accident and then repaired and re-instated into service, given the John Eagle case, I am confident that if there were any, we would have heard of about it.
To return to my issue of liability, let us ask: when a vehicle is repaired and calibrated and certified, it is the same as when it came from the factory. So, if it fails, who is liable?
The ADAS discussions should not be about can I get paid for making an investment in space, equipment, training or any other specialist service I need to invest in? This should be a given, as my return on investment (ROI) should be built into my rate and not questioned by any ‘work provider’ or insurer as to why it costs what it costs. It costs what it costs, and so here is my repair execution proforma to validate it was done correctly. The discussion should instead be who is liable in a few days, weeks or months if any of this vehicle’s components fail (as they have been seen to do when they are factory fitted) and are complicit in the creation of a collision.
In the United Kingdom, the Automated Vehicles Act outlines how liability will be allocated when an automated vehicle commits a driving offence or is involved in an accident, and it makes for some very interesting reading. There are six automation levels of vehicles, and their driving functions are described within the SAE international J3016-Standard.
• Level 0: No Driving Automation
• Level 1: Driver Assistance
• Level 2: Partial Driving Automation
• Level 3: Conditional Driving Automation
• Level 4: High Driving Automation
• Level 6: Full Driving Automation
According to an article for ZF in April of 2022, Fully Autonomous vehicles operating in mixed traffic will become established in the foreseeable future, but some experts suggest it is more than a few years away. Until then, we will have a menagerie of different levels of automation operating in harmony or otherwise on our roads, and I am sure this will add to the confusion of liability.
Here are just some of the issues that have been raised by risk management solicitors:
• Manufacturer liability: sensor malfunction, software glitches, inadequate cyber security measures, inadequate testing.
• Third party liability: software providers, bugs in updates etcetera.
• Service providers: connectivity issues from network providers, component providers, third party providers
• Driver liability: maintenance issues
• 3D printing: spurious of critical parts, counterfeit parts
• Hackers
Now add the repairer into the mix and where is the low hanging fruit? This all being said — repairers, repair away. Get the right equipment, get the right training, but make sure you get in the right mindset and create the right documentation to support the coming changes. Go digital and record everything and keep it on file. Charge the right amount and make sure you get what you are worth. It is the only way you can continue to invest in this ever changing collision repair industry.
