Electronic Cocoon: Product Liability Aspects of Driver Support Systems in Europe and the United States

Especially in the United States, but also in Europe, product liability has often been identified as a possible constraint for the successful implementation of electronic driver support systems. This paper broadly examines product liability law in the United States and in Europe. There is a clear and striking difference in the level of litigation against producers, which is much higher in the United States than in Europe. Briefly assessing the concept of a defective product in both European and American law in relation to electronic driver support systems, it is concluded that the most important differences are probably not caused by diverging substantive product liability law rules but rather by other differences between the legal system in the US and in Europe.