The self-driving vehicle and the need to innovate Philippine consumer protection laws and other policy considerations

• Main Authors: Salud, Jan Raphael R., Lee, Hannah Louise
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Automated vehicles Consumer protection—Law and legislation—Philippines; Traffic engineering; Consumer Protection Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11310
• Institution: De La Salle University

As part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s digital frontier, Self-Driving Vehicles (SDVs) have revolutionized the automotive industry by significantly improving traffic conditions, reducing energy-related costs, and yielding high net economic and social benefits. However, the rapid emergence of this technology has exposed discrepancies in the law and regulatory policies. This paper examines the existing legal framework on road traffic laws with the legality of the presence and operation of SDVs in the Philippines. It also examines the Consumer Act of the Philippines and its need to (1) officially recognize the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International and/or the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) classifications of SDVs; (2) define the relationship between software manufacturers and SDV manufacturers; (3) make the “risk-utility test” the official yardstick in determining product liability of SDVs; and (4) mandate SDV manufacturers to design warnings which are not only clear, but are designed to be appealing, compulsory, and readily accessible— even to the point of recurring — for the inattentive driver.