Professor William Widen, along with Marilyn Wolf, professor of engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, wrote a forthcoming article for the Journal of Law and Mobility at the University of Michigan School of Law titled Human Masters/Robot Servants: Highly Automated Vehicle Design, Intoxicated Drivers & Vicarious Liability. The article explains why highly automated vehicle (HAV) manufacturers and automated driving system (ADS) developers should consider legal outcomes during the design process for an HAV intended to transport intoxicated persons. In addition to addressing HAV feature design, the essay recommends that the HAV industry pursue a legislative agenda, as an adjunct to feature design, to provide legal protection from liability in various scenarios.
Professor Widen teaches commercial law, contracts, and other business subjects at the University of Miami School of Law. A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Professor Widen clerked in 1983-1984 for Levin Campbell, Chief Judge of the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
