Should drunk drivers be charged with DUI in fully autonomous cars?

[JoeStuckInOH]

18. You're missing what I'm saying...

This isn't about which is better or worse. It's about the ability to make decisions when needed.

Its a safe assumption that EVERY autonomous vehicle will have the ability to quickly override autonomous function if human intervention is necessary. There could be an accident ahead requiring unusual detour, unpaved/dirt roads, irregular traffic pattern due to recent construction, no lines on the road... there's too many unpredictabilities on the road to expect autonomous vehicles to be able to navigate 100% of all situations - that's just unrealistic.

A person texting has 100% of their mental faculties intact. They are fully cognizant and they know they shouldn't text and drive... so they let the autonomous control take over while they are being distracted. And when necessary, a person texting can put the cell phone down and take over control of the car in a situation requiring override to the autonomous control.

Whereas intoxicated people make poor choices, in general. Someone with intoxicated/impaired judgment may not even realize they are impaired and should let the car drive itself... or perhaps there is a situation they feel human intervention is necessary and, with impaired judgment, disable autonomous control. An intoxicated person cannot become not drunk/high by choice. Only time can reduce impairment, not willpower.

It's simple... Keep the laws as is:
1) No texting and driving. If they're caught manually driving while texting then they are liable for breaking the law. But someone texting is not driving if the computer is driving... so that is fine.

2) No sitting in the drivers set of a running motor vehicle while intoxicated. Because there might be a need to operate that thing yourself and there's no guarantee the autonomous vehicle won't need intervention/assistance.