Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

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Liability Issues

Methodology:

•Conducted legal review to identify law/precedence on liability exposure

•Reviewed relevant statutes and legal statements for all 50 States and the District of Columbia

•Surveyed experts

Primary Institutional/Policy Issues:

1.Dissemination of RWIS information directly to traveling public

2.Providing RWIS information indirectly, through third party such as Clarus

3.A DOT’s duty to respond to RWIS notifications of hazards

4.Liability for not using RWIS when expected or indicated.

• Examined RWIS-related liability concerns and identified recommended strategies for addressing policy and institutional issues

• Work conducted by the Natl. Conference of State Legislators (NCSL)


		I.There appear to be four areas of liability concerns associated with this concept of an open data environment and more specific data that is now widely available:

			•The first area of concern is the dissemination of this data as information given directly to the public especially through the internet as a medium of choice.

			•The second issue was the availability of that information to the public through more indirect or 3^rd party means such as Clarus or through a weather service provider that repackages DOT manufactured data.

			•In both cases, the concern dealt with providing inaccurate data or having data interpreted in an inaccurate manner and upon which travel decisions rested.

			•The third and fourth concerns are institutional – the duty of DOT to respond to RWIS that signals a weather-related roadway hazard and the hazards of not using RWIS technologies when they are expected or indicated.

			•The questions that resulted had to do with the extent of liability in any of these scenarios.