When Johnny Cab Gets a Speeding Ticket: The Who-Dunnit of Autonomous Auto Follies

 Ladies and gentlemen, it's your favorite open-minded free-thinker, Ganesh Swaminathan, coming at you from the wild, wide-open frontier of openmind.ganeshs.net. Today, I'm your humble guide as we cruise down the not-so-lonely road of traffic violations committed by self-driving cars. Buckle up for a wild ride through this techno-legal wonderland.

Imagine, if you will, you're comfortably ensconced in your autonomous vehicle, engrossed in the latest episode of "The Real Housewives of Cyberspace," when a sudden siren punctuates the drama. Old habits die hard, and you instinctively start sweating. Then you remember, you've been riding shotgun with Johnny Cab (Total Recall fans, unite!). You haven’t touched the steering wheel since it became vintage to do so. And yet, here comes Officer Friendly with a ticket in his hand.

Now the existential dread sets in: who's going to foot the bill for this automotive misadventure? You, the proud owner of this self-driving marvel? The manufacturer, those coding whizz-kids who birthed this HAL on wheels? Or the 'driver,' who might be in the midst of their afternoon siesta or closing a billion-dollar deal on Zoom?

Welcome, my friends, to the automotive edition of Agatha Christie’s "Murder on the Orient Express" – who's the culprit, who's the victim, and who gets to play detective?

Like a Black Mirror episode interspersed with Monty Python-esque humor, we're thrust into a comedy of errors with no immediate end in sight. Jurisdictions are muddier than a mud-wrestling match, some pinning the blame on the owner, others targeting the manufacturer, and a few even making the innocent 'driver' the fall guy.

The plot thickens depending on the level of car autonomy and the specific violation. If it's a fully autonomous car, the owner or manufacturer might bear the brunt. But if the vehicle requires human input, the 'driver' could suddenly find themselves in the hot seat.

And what about the specifics? Was it a rogue software bug or a reckless 'driver'? Depending on the answer, either the manufacturer or the 'driver' might have to cough up the green.

So, my dear wide-open-minded readers, as we hurtle headfirst into this brave new world of self-driving automobiles, let's brace ourselves for a new era of techno-legal conundrums. Until the day your AI lawyer can argue with the AI traffic cop, keep one eye on the road and another on the evolving legal landscape. After all, it's all part of the fun in our shared journey of free knowledge and open minds!

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