Berks Barrister Summer 2018 - 12

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"SIR, HAS YOUR CAR
HAD ANYTHING TO
DRINK TONIGHT?"
Driving Under the Influence Law
in the Automated Vehicle Era
By Raymond Edward Baker, Esquire

O

n March 18th 2018 in Tempe, Arizona, Elaine
Herzberg was the first person to ever be killed by a
"self-driving" vehicle.i The "driver" of that vehicle was
relying on a computer program to handle driving the car, leading
many to wonder who is responsible for a "glitch in the system"
that has ended someone's life. From every corner of the media
landscape the crowing has begun to decide who is responsible
for this tragic loss of life. It is in moments such as these the flaws
and cracks in our laws at Federal, state, and local levels begin to
show. Despite our best efforts to fill them in, humans cannot
predict the unpredictable. The impact these cars can and will have
on American legislation will come fast to our courts and should
be acknowledged, especially as it relates to driving under the
influence when one is "driving" a car labeled as self-driving or on
auto-pilot.
Self-driving cars have been talked about for ages, but they
have always been seen as a distant science fiction idea. We can
slip the surly bonds of Earth into space and beyond, but who
does not envision a Neil Armstrong piloting us there? However,
from Uber in Pittsburghii to the corporate giants of Silicon Valley

and their current war of using self-driving vehicles to try and
map the entirety of the known civilized world first,iii consumers
owning self-driving vehicles are closer to reality every year. While
some may enjoy the freedom of the open road as they speed
down Route 66, how many commuters on Route 422 at 8 a.m.
wouldn't trade that in to review emails, calmly enjoy breakfast, or
catch up on news in the Reading Eagle or Washington Post while
their car guides them to work on its own?
The uglier side of driving (besides sitting in rush-hour on
Route 422) is the harm to property and more importantly,
people, that happens due to collisions that result from intoxicated
drivers. Driving Under the Influence (also known as DUI) is
one of the most often committed crimes in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, with nearly 400 per 100,000 people annuallyiv
In Berks County, like many counties, an entire courtroomv is
dedicated to handling all DUIs. Of late, it is the area where many
young litigants begin their careers, and is an area of the law that
touches people of almost every color, creed, and socio-economic
ladder, being the "every-man crime"vi. However, the ultimate
question will be how will we deal with the changes in situations

i New York Times, March 19th, 2018, https://www.nytimes.
com/2018/03/19/technology/uber-driverless-fatality.html.

iv Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Report, 2015. http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/
UCR/Reporting/Annual/AnnualFrames.asp?year=2015; (It is worth noting
Berks County is significantly below the Pennsylvania Average of 380 DUIs per
100K people annually, sitting at a total of 340 DUIs per 100K people annually.)

ii Siegel, Robert, and Art Silverman. "Pittsburgh Offers Driving Lessons For
Uber's Autonomous Cars." NPR, NPR, 3 Apr. 2017
iii BERGEN, MARK. "Google Won the Last Maps War. Self-Driving Cars
Give Other Mapmakers a Chance to Find Their Own Way." Los Angeles
Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2018

12 | Berks Barrister

v This courtroom is currently presided over by the Hon. Eleni Dimitriou
Geishauser, and this author primarily practices in Her Honor's courtroom.

vi Caetano, Raul, "Driving under the influence (DUI) among U.S. ethnic
groups", Accident Analysis & Prevention Volume 37, Issue 2, March 2005,
Pages 217-224.
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