Transportation Law Commons^™

Regulating Robotaxis, Bryant Walker Smith, Matthew T. Wansley

Articles

In several sunbelt cities, commercial robotaxi service has arrived. The leading robotaxi company is providing over 400,000 trips per week. The industry claims that robotaxis will save lives and provide convenient and affordable mobility. Critics counter that they will increase congestion, undermine transit, and subject the public to ubiquitous surveillance. We argue that the social impact of robotaxis depends on how they are regulated. We emphasize two points missing from the debate. First, some of the benefits of robotaxis may be political rather than technological—some longstanding public policy goals may become viable in a robotaxi world. Second, letting one private …

Governance In The Absence Of Government, Tracy Hresko Pearl

Faculty Articles

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at an unprecedented pace, with generative systems exerting growing influence over social, economic, and political life. While Al offers opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also poses risks ranging from misinformation and job displacement to existential threats if highly autonomous systems evade human control. Across industry, government, and civil society, there is broad consensus that Al requires oversight.

Yet traditional U.S. regulatory approaches face six significant barriers: (1) technology outpacing legislation, (2) limited Al expertise among policymakers, (3) regulatory capture, (4) political gridlock, (5) outdated governance structures, and (6) the inherent complexity of Al. Combined …

“Appeals On Wheels” Brings Court Of Appeals Of Indiana To Bloomington, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Court of Appeals of Indiana will hold oral arguments at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law on Thursday, April 3 inside Baier Hall.

The event is part of the court’s Appeals on Wheels series and is open to the public. Arguments begin at 1:45 p.m. and are expected to conclude around 2:45 p.m.

“The Appeals on Wheels program is the best trust-building tool we have as a judiciary,” said Anne Fuchs, the Court’s director of communications. “The court brings real oral arguments to communities around the state so the public can understand how the judiciary really works. We …

Human Masters/Robot Servants: Highly Automated Vehicle Design, Intoxicated Drivers & Vicarious Liability, William H. Widen, Marilyn C. Wolf

Articles

A traditional engineering role is to design a safe product. Safety engineering is an exercise in harm avoidance ex ante. In contrast, liability attribution is an exercise to compensate for loss post hoc — traditionally viewed as a legal matter. We observe that, when a natural person incurs liability for a loss that exceeds insurance coverage, economic ruin can follow. Neither engineering nor law focus on the loss suffered by defendants considering law as a "safety risk." The highly automated vehicle (HAV) design space, however, provides an opportunity to prevent this kind of economic harm from occurring ex ante just …

The Birth Of The Franchised Dealer Model, Daniel A. Crane

Book Chapters

Chapter 1 traces the history of the franchise dealer model of car distribution, from the early wild west days of the internal combustion automobile to the political confrontations between Detroit’s Big Three and the “mom and pop” car dealers during the mid-twentieth century. The chapter examines the thinking of legendary management figures such as Henry Ford and Alfred P. Sloan, explains the dealer protection rationale behind state franchise dealer laws, and shows how the legacy car companies largely acquiesced in those laws until Tesla’s entry onto the scene.

Conference Report Of Wmu Maritime Affairs Conference 2025 : Transforming A Maritime Future : Digitalization And Decarbonization, World Maritime University

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Changemakers: Steven Colantuono: Juris Doctorate: Embracing The Road To Success, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Federal Maritime Commission’S New Framework For Ocean Carrier Accountability: Analysis Of The Mcs Industries And Oj Commerce Decisions, Heewan Noh, Jie Shi

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

This article examines two 2024 Federal Maritime Commission (FMC or “Commission”) cases that significantly impact the interpretation of ocean carrier accountability under the Shipping Act of 1984: MCS Industries, Inc. v. COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd. and OJ Commerce, LLC v. Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft A/S & Co. KG. This article argues that the FMC, whose mission is to “[e]nsure a competitive and reliable international ocean transportation supply system that supports the U.S. economy and protects the public from unfair and deceptive practices,” continues to make ongoing efforts to clarify and enforce protecting shippers’ rights. These efforts focus particularly on (i) …

Cities, E-Commerce & Public Health: 3 Legal Pathways To Limiting Freight Vehicle Emissions, Amy E. Turner

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

In recent years, cities have become increasingly defined by e-commerce – the sprawling network of goods delivery from central warehouses to neighborhood distribution centers to residents’ front doors. This growing network of warehouses and the freight vehicles that serve them contribute significantly to a community’s greenhouse gas emissions and exposure to harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Moreover, so-called last-mile delivery warehouses (or distribution centers) are proliferating, largely in low-income communities and communities of color, where residents are exposed to increasing traffic, pollution, and harmful health impacts.

While a handful of cities have pursued approaches …

Infrastructure Finance For The Public Good: How Asset Recycling Can Untangle The New York Mta's $50 Billion Debt Load, Lev E. Breydo

Faculty Publications

Systematic infrastructure underinvestment - a $2.6 trillion 'gap' - and accelerating climate change have become facts of life in the United States. Though typically attributed to politics, this Article posits the circumstances as a market disequilibrium rooted in an interplay between unique dimensions of infrastructure and distinctive features of the U.S. approach. Recently-passed legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is insufficient to overcome these longstanding challenges.

Based on a broad, global study of effective approaches to infrastructure finance, as well as a multi-disciplinary analysis of the economics, engineering and finance literature, this Article proposes addressing the U.S. infrastructure …

Liability Rules For Automated Vehicle: Definitions And Details, William H. Widen, Phillip Koopman

Articles

This paper explains how the law ought to assign liability for automated vehicle accidents by providing an example of a proposed statute. We advocate for the creation of the legal fiction of a "Computer Driver," which can have negligence liability, anytime a court or jury determines that the Computer Driver's behavior failed to imitate or exceed the level of care we would expect of an attentive and unimpaired Human Driver in similar circumstances. We then use this concept to explain how to determine contributory negligence and comparative fault when control of a vehicle is transferred from a Computer Driver to …

Green Amendments Land Use And Transportation: What Could Go Wrong?, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

Numerous states have amended their constitutions to include a green amendment (that is, an amendment providing that the state's citizens have a right to a healthy environment). Unfortunately, the vagueness of these amendments leaves an enormous amount of interpretative power to courts. This article examines how some courts have interpreted green amendments and how these interpretations risk the misuse of green amendments. Additionally, this article examines how such misuse may be avoided.

Incomplete Streets, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

Over 1700 complete streets policies have been adopted by state and local government; these policies typically provide that streets shall be designed to benefit all users, not just motorists. This article analyzes some complete streets policies, and concludes that even above-average policies are often too vague and underfunded to significantly change the status quo. The article suggests a variety of reforms that might make complete streets policies more effective.

Remote Repossession, Rebecca Crootof

Law Faculty Publications

Ford’s February 2023 patent application raises a new possibility: that after a default, an internet-connected vehicle might autonomously drive itself off of the owner’s premises—to a public space, to the repossession agency, or even to a junkyard. But while this “remote repossession” would minimize the risks of harm that attend in-person repossessions, it creates at least three new risks. First, a danger of bodily injury and property damage to the owner. Second, an increased likelihood of physical harm to a third-party with no obviously responsible entity. And third, most invisibly but also perhaps most importantly: further erosion of consumers’ current …

Automated Vehicles, Moral Hazards & The "Av Problem", William H. Widen

Articles

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Amended Claim On A Warrant Of Arrest In An Admiralty Action In Rem, Ming En Tor

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Suppose I have filed my statement of claim endorsing the writ in rem, and the Registrar has issued a warrant of arrest reflecting this claim. I then proceed to execute a warrant of arrest to arrest a vessel. Now, suppose, however, I later discover that the original claim stated in the warrant of arrest does not exist. I then substitute the original claim with a completely different claim altogether. Can the warrant of arrest be upheld based on the amended claim and/or cause of action, even if it was not so pleaded initially when the action in rem commenced? This …

Dying In Isolation: Public Health Implications Of Transportation And Burial Of Human Remains During A Pandemic A Fifty State Survey, Christopher Ogolla

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Testing Automated Driving Systems By Breaking Many Laws Efficiently, Xiaodong Zhang, Wei Zhao, Yang Sun, Jun Sun, Yulong Shen, Xuewen Dong, Zijiang Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

An automated driving system (ADS), as the brain of an autonomous vehicle (AV), should be tested thoroughly ahead of deployment. ADS must satisfy a complex set of rules to ensure road safety, e.g., the existing traffic laws and possibly future laws that are dedicated to AVs. To comprehensively test an ADS, we would like to systematically discover diverse scenarios in which certain traffic law is violated. The challenge is that (1) there are many traffic laws (e.g., 13 testable articles in Chinese traffic laws and 16 testable articles in Singapore traffic laws, with 81 and 43 violation situations respectively); and …

The Road To Autonomy, Nicole Mcconlogue

Faculty Scholarship

Scholars, activists, and advocates have long identified the “transportation gap” as a significant factor contributing to race- and class-based economic and other disparities. Carlessness correlates closely with race and poverty; meanwhile, widespread disinvestment in public transit results in low-income Black and Brown people suffering a disproportionate lack of access to opportunity and choice in almost every conceivable area of life.

State and local governments most often propose one of three solutions to correct the transportation gap: 1) renewing their investment in public transit; 2) increasing access to shared transit; and 3) making adaptations to the built environment. This Article demonstrates …

New Scholarship On Streets, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

An article discussing numerous recent articles in legal journals discussing the rise in automobile-related death and injury in the United States.

Using Youtube To Explain Housing, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

In 2021, the author ran for Borough President of Manhattan, New York. The author tried to his scholarship into his campaign by producing over twenty Youtube videos, most of which addressed land use and housing policy. The article describes the videos, and evaluates their usefulness.

Winning The Imitation Game: Setting Safety Expectations For Automated Vehicles, William H. Widen, Philip Koopman

Articles

This article suggests that legislatures amend existing law to create a new legal category of "computer driver" to allow a plaintiff to make a negligence claim against an automated vehicle manufacturer for loss proximately caused by any negligent driving behavior exhibited by the driving automation systems which it produced. Creating this new legal category will allow a status quo approach to attribution and allocation of liability, including permitting defendants to take advantage of contributory negligence and comparative fault rules. Creation of the category also allows for continued functioning of the structure of our existing liability laws and regulations for motor …

Hit The Road, Jack: The Auto Industry As The Next Vehicle For Predatory Infringement, Kristen Osenga

Law Faculty Publications

While patents, patent litigation, and patent pools have been part of the automotive industry since the late-1800s, the prevalence of technology covered by standards and accompanying standard essential patents (SEPs) is much more recent. Today’s smart cars and the widespread incorporation of telecommunication and Internet of Things standards in vehicles raise concerns about how well the automotive industry will be able to adapt to this new SEP-laden future. This article predicts that predatory infringement of SEPs for two related reasons. First, although some industries, such as telecommunications, have long dealt with SEPs, the incorporation of standardized technology is more recent …

Driving-Decision Making Of Autonomous Vehicle According To Queensland Overtaking Traffic Rules, Hanif Bhuiyan, Guido Governatori, Avishkar Mahajan, Andry Rakotonirainy, Meng Weng (Huang Mingrong) Wong

Centre for Computational Law (2022-2025)

Making a driving decision according to traffic rules is a challenging task for improving the safety of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). Traffic rules often contain open texture expressions and exceptions, which makes it hard for AVs to follow them. This paper introduces a Defeasible Deontic Logic (DDL) baseddriving decision-making methodology for AVs. We use DDL to formalize traffic rules and facilitate automated reasoning. DDL is used to effectively handle rule exceptions and resolve open texture expressions in rules. Furthermore, we supplement the information provided by the traffic rules by an ontology for AV driving behaviour and environment information. This methodology performs …

Traffic Rule Formalization For Autonomous Vehicle, Hanif Bhuiyan, Guido Governatori, Andry Rakotonirainy, Meng Weng Wong, Avishkar Mahajan

Centre for Computational Law (2022-2025)

This study devised and implemented a Defeasible Deontic Logic (DDL)-based formalization approach for translating traffic rules into a machine-computable (M/C) format and thus solving rule issues: rule vagueness (open texture expressions) and exceptions in rules. The resulting M/C format of traffic rules can be utilized for automatic traffic rule reasoning to assist the Autonomous Vehicle (AV) in making legal decisions. The method incorporates the components and behaviour of regulations based on the rule's obligation, prohibition, and permission activities.

The need for the encoding methodology is motivated by the desire for automated reasoning over Autonomous Vehicle information involving traffic rules.

A …

Crash Severity Analysis And Risk Factors Identification Based On An Alternate Data Source: A Case Study Of Developing Country, Hanif Bhuiyan, Jinat Ara, Khan Md. Hasib, Md Imran Hossain Sourav, Faria Benta Karim, Cecilia Sik-Lanyi, Guido Governatori, Andry Rakotnirainy, Shansunnahar Yasmin

Centre for Computational Law (2022-2025)

Road traffic injuries are one of the primary reasons for death, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. Safety in land transport is one of the major concerns for road safety authorities and other policymakers. For this reason, contributory factors identification associated with crashes is necessary for reducing road crashes and ensuring transportation safety. This paper presents an analytical approach to identifying significant contributing factors of Bangladesh road crashes by evaluating the road crash data, considering three different severity levels (non-fetal, severe, and extremely severe). Generally, official crash databases are compiled from police-reported crash records. Though the official datasets are focusing …

Understanding The Role Of Transportation In Human Trafficking In California, Kezban Yagci Sokat

Mineta Transportation Institute

Human trafficking, a form of modern slavery, is the recruitment, transport, and/or transfer of persons using force, fraud, or coercion to exploit them for acts of labor or sex. According to the International Labor Organization, human trafficking is the fastest growing organized crime with approximately $150 billion in annual profits and 40.3 million individuals trapped in slave-like conditions. While it is not compulsory to involve transportation for human trafficking, the transportation industry plays a critical role in combating human trafficking as traffickers often rely on the transportation system to recruit, move, or transfer victims. This multi-method study investigates the role …

Law School News: Rewards Of The Road Less Traveled 10-13-2022, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Lawbreaker: An Approach For Specifying Traffic Laws And Fuzzing Autonomous Vehicles, Yang Sun, Christopher M. Poskitt, Jun Sun, Yuqi Chen, Zijiang Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Autonomous driving systems (ADSs) must be tested thoroughly before they can be deployed in autonomous vehicles. High-fidelity simulators allow them to be tested against diverse scenarios, including those that are difficult to recreate in real-world testing grounds. While previous approaches have shown that test cases can be generated automatically, they tend to focus on weak oracles (e.g. reaching the destination without collisions) without assessing whether the journey itself was undertaken safely and satisfied the law. In this work, we propose LawBreaker, an automated framework for testing ADSs against real-world traffic laws, which is designed to be compatible with different scenario …

U.S. Micromobility Law (Major Road Work Ahead), Peter W. Martin

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

Over the past decade electrically powered bicycles, stand-up scooters, skateboards, and more have burst onto the nation’s streets and sidewalks. While some have been owned by their riders, a combination of embedded technology and smartphone apps allowed well-funded start-ups to distribute these novel e-vehicles across urban public spaces, making them available for on-demand, short-term rental. This blossoming of “micromobility” has taken place within physical and legal infrastructures ill-prepared for the change. Indisputably, most of the new types of individual motorized mobility fell outside established vehicle categories. The literal terms of existing law banned their use on all public rights of …