Who Hit Me?

I am standing in front of the insurance counter. I have been waiting with my ticket number in hand. I am the thirty-something person in line. The display reads 131, and my number is 147.

The accident happened four days ago. Specifically, at 11:23 a.m., at an intersection in Seongsu-dong. My car was in autonomous mode. The other car was also in autonomous mode. The traffic light was connected to the city’s integrated traffic management server, and road sensors were sending real-time data to the cloud. At that moment, at that intersection, there was not a single human being making a direct decision.

And yet the accident happened.

Thud. It was short and decisive. The airbags did not deploy. One bumper was scratched, and I spilled my Americano on my knee. The damage was minor. However, SafeDrive Insurance’s app immediately recommended filing an accident claim, and I followed that recommendation. I judged it the legally correct action.

The problem was the question the app asked me.

“Please enter the license plate number of the at-fault vehicle.”

I knew the license plate. The other car stopped right after the crash, and I took a photo of its plate. But there was nobody in the driver’s seat. Actually, there was. Someone was asleep in the back seat. Snoring, even. They hadn’t heard the thud, didn’t know their car had been in an accident.

“Please enter the contact information of the other party.”

I got the other insurance company’s information and called them. The consultant was very polite.

“If the vehicle was in autonomous mode, you need to first confirm with the manufacturer.”

I was transferred to the manufacturer’s customer service.

“A collision during autonomous driving is the result of algorithm decisions. If there was an error in the HD map data for that area at the time, you will need to coordinate with the map service provider.”

I contacted the map service company.

“Our data is accurate. However, if the lane markings on that road were worn, it falls under the jurisdiction of the local government’s road management office.”

I put down the phone and looked out the window. Clear autumn sky.

The number of autonomous driving accidents has been recorded in the hundreds each year in recent years. But among them, cases where a single responsible party has been clearly identified are few and far between—this is already the consensus of the insurance industry. On the second day after filing, I understood I had become one data point in that consensus.

In the end, I pulled a ticket. Number 147. With a vague hope that if I visit the SafeDrive Insurance office directly, something I cannot reach by phone might be solved. I thought I needed to meet a person.

The display changed to 132.

A middle-aged man next to me started talking.

“I’m here for an autonomous driving accident too. How long ago was yours?”

“Four days.”

He nodded. It was a sympathetic nod.

“I’ve been dealing with mine for two months. What’s your algorithm version?”

I couldn’t answer that question. I didn’t know my car’s algorithm version. I didn’t check it when I bought the car. I didn’t even know that people check such things when buying cars.

“That’s important,” he said. “They told me the algorithm version determines which company is liable.”

Two months. I rolled the phrase around in my mouth. In two months, winter will come. The scratched bumper will face snow.

“But,” he added, “I’m now more curious about who can say someone was wrong than about who actually was.”

The display changed to 133.

I had a feeling that his words would linger in my head for a long time. That answering that question might take longer than fixing the bumper.

Number 147. The counter was still far away.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.