A Practical and Old Fashioned Product Liability Lawyer Expresses Concerns about Computers and Electronics in Today’s Cars
As an experienced car accident and auto product liability lawyer since 1979 and somewhat of a computer geek with a curious mind since childhood, I have to confess that I think the over-computerization and digitization of cars creates risk for drivers. Recently on a flight back from Puerto Rico, I had the opportunity to chat with a pilot on the advantages and disadvantages of an Airbus, which is a fly by wire computerized plane versus a Boeing plane which according to the pilot is more mechanical and not as computer oriented or controlled.
The pilot explained to me that although the Airbus may be more sophisticated in terms of electronics, he had concerns with backup systems if God forbid there was an electronic failure. How many of you have had glitches with computers, remote controls or other less complex systems than those digitized or electronic systems which control acceleration and braking and other systems in your vehicle? It seems that as technology advances, electronics and computerized systems are replacing the more primitive mechanical systems that once controlled automobile functions.
As the Toyota debacle indicates, there is a debate on whether electronic issues are affecting the quality and safety of vehicles. At first Toyota stated the sudden unintended acceleration problem it had was caused by floor mats, yet there seems to be much controversy about possible electronic system defects or deficiencies.
As an experienced auto product defect lawyer since 1979, I have seen many situations involving electronic or computer malfunction and in fact, I recently was the victim of an unintended acceleration problem with my wife’s new BMW 5 series car. While this may sound crazy, I have regular glitches with a simple Blackberry cell phone which require a reboot by taking out the battery. Many times I have computer failures or glitches in which I have to turn the computer off and reboot. As a driver of Mercedes Benz, I have had the same problem with the navigation system on occasion. While I am not one to fight progress, and automaker and plane manufacturers will argue that electronic systems make vehicles and airplanes much safer, I believe that as electronic computers come to dominate our existence, we will discover more glitches and of course, these glitches may in fact become the cause of catastrophic accidents that unfortunately take lives and injure otherwise innocent individuals.
