The debate over autonomous vehicles being allowed to operate in New York State has been put on hold by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is prioritizing what she considers a more important issue: The auto insurance crisis and runaway rates. Hochul is facing off with a powerful group of trial lawyers, street-safety advocates and state lawmakers, who are either skeptical that the insurance reforms she has proposed will actually save the average driver money, or whether they will deprive crash victims of compensation for their injuries. She is hoping labor groups can serve as a counterweight to opponents of the changes and use their lobbying muscle to help get them passed in the Legislature, according to The New York Times.
To help gain the support of the powerful labor unions, Hochul is pulling back on a planned autonomous vehicle pilot, which would have allowed a limited number of driverless cars to pick up passengers outside of New York City. Some of the groups have expressed concerns about how the growth of driverless vehicles could affect their members’ jobs. They have described robotaxis as an existential threat.
Some labor leaders fear the governor’s reversal on robotaxis could be temporary, as the industry expands elsewhere. City and state officials already granted Waymo, which is expected to benefit most from an expansion of driverless vehicles, permission to test a small number of supervised autonomous taxis in New York City, at least through the end of March. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to test a driverless shuttle bus program at Newark Liberty International Airport this spring.
Facing re-election this year, Ms. Hochul is framing her insurance reforms as part of a broader campaign to rein in costs for regular New Yorkers. According to the Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog group, drivers in the state pay some of the highest premiums in the country, which climbed to an average of $1,896 a year in 2023, 32% above the national average. The governor says the premiums have soared, in part, because of fraudulent claims and legal loopholes that incentivize frivolous lawsuits. Supporters of her plan say reforms are necessary to crack down on a spate of staged car crashes, in which fraudsters cause collisions to collect insurance payouts, thus raising coverage costs for other drivers.
Ms. Hochul’s plan would cap damages for car crash victims who were either uninsured, impaired or committing a felony at the time of the accident, limiting what they can receive for pain, suffering and emotional distress to $100,000. She is also seeking to narrow the categories that allow a victim to meet the legal definition of “serious injury.” The changes would also include a rule that drivers in car crashes who are found to be more than 51% at fault cannot seek compensation at trial beyond the $50,000 offered under no-fault coverage.
The Citizens Budget Commission estimated that the reforms could shrink drivers’ premiums by 10%, or about $200 a year.
Lining up behind the governor is app-hail company, Uber, which has so far put $5 million into a new independent expenditure committee called Citizens for Affordable Rates PAC, which is leading a lobbying push. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the subway and buses in New York City, has also backed the insurance proposals, saying they could help reduce its own legal costs. Other supporters include the Trucking Association of New York, which has said insurance costs are among its members’ largest expenses.
Opponents, led by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, have argued that the plan’s benefits are overstated. Andrew Finkelstein, the trade group’s president, says the savings are not likely to be passed onto the average car owner. Advocates for safer streets have also come out against Ms. Hochul’s proposals, saying they will unfairly reduce compensation for crash victims.
Kristin Devoe, a spokeswoman for the governor, dismissed the criticism as coming from “special interests” who were “worried about lining their own pockets.”
Source: The New York Times
