Vasquez was charged with negligent homicide<\/a>. She eventually pleaded guilty to endangerment in 2023 and received probation. Uber faced no criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That case set the tone for everything that followed, backup drivers aren’t passengers. They carry real legal responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under SAE Level 3\u20134 supervised autonomous operations (the category most current commercial deployments fall under), backup drivers must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n State laws frame this as the human retaining “ultimate responsibility for safe operation.” California’s DMV AV regulations<\/a> are the most detailed in the country on this point. Most other AV-active states Arizona, Texas, Nevada are more permissive on driverless ops but still hold supervised operators accountable for negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Training comes from the fleet operator, not always Uber directly. That’s an important gap. What one operator calls “certified” might look very different from another’s program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where it gets layered. Liability in AV accidents isn’t one company it’s a web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No immunity just because the autonomous system was engaged. If a driver was distracted, slow to intervene or ignored an alert, that’s negligence. Civil liability<\/a> meaning lawsuits and in serious cases, criminal charges. The Tempe case proved the latter is on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two paths here. First, vicarious liability, if the backup driver was their employee or contractor acting within the scope of their role, the employer shares responsibility. Second, direct liability, if Uber or the operator failed to train drivers properly, kept deploying despite known safety issues or let maintenance slide, they can be sued independently of what the driver did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worth noting: Uber’s own rider terms describe AV services as being provided by “third-party providers” and include risk disclaimers. They’ve worked hard to create legal distance. Courts are still sorting out how far that actually goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the autonomous system itself was defective, bad sensor calibration, flawed object classification, unsafe handoff logic, strict product liability applies. This is separate from negligence. You don’t need to prove they knew about the defect. You prove the defect existed and caused harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multiple defendants, shared fault. Most states use comparative negligence, meaning fault gets apportioned among everyone involved, including sometimes the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standard rideshare insurance applies to supervised AV rides, same framework, layered with AV-specific coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of this, Uber launched an AV-specific master insurance program, underwritten through partners including Apollo, ibott and Marsh, covering the entire ecosystem: manufacturers, ADS providers, fleet owners, operators and Uber itself. It covers on-trip, off-trip, charging and edge-case scenarios. The stated goal is eliminating gaps and overlaps that older policies left open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds comprehensive. It largely is. But “up to $1 million” is not unlimited, disputes still arise over whether the AV or the human was “in control” at the moment of impact and Uber’s terms include arbitration clauses that can complicate victim access to courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s no federal AV liability law. Each state writes it’s own rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Backup Drivers Are Actually Required to Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Who Gets Sued When an AV Crashes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Backup Driver<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Uber (or the Fleet Operator)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Manufacturer \/ ADS Developer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/thelawyerworld.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Manufacturer-ADS-Developer-1024x366.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUber’s Insurance: What the Tiers Actually Cover<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Period<\/th> Status<\/th> Coverage<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Period 1<\/td> App on, waiting for match<\/td> State minimums (e.g., CA: $50k\/$100k bodily injury, $30k property damage) + excess<\/td><\/tr> Period 2<\/td> Matched, heading to pickup<\/td> Up to $1 million primary commercial liability<\/td><\/tr> Period 3<\/td> Passenger in vehicle<\/td> Up to $1 million liability + uninsured\/underinsured motorist<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"Uber's](\"https:\/\/thelawyerworld.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ubers-Insurance-1024x479.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nState-by-State: It’s Not Uniform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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![\"United](\"https:\/\/thelawyerworld.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/United-States-highlighting-current-Uber-AV-operating-cities-1024x559.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n