The cyclists have a point, but in a roundabout way: Why should the owner of an automatic car be liable for *any* expense that was not directly of their own doing? Sure they should have insurance for many aspects, but in the event of the self-driving software being at fault to any degree the car company should pick up the whole bill.
Sadly I see moving the costs to the public, via the insurer's premiums, will not result in enough pressure on the software development to deliver something safe and reliable.
I mean look at Google going for this given they never provide anything but 'beta' software, and never guarantee anything in the way of functionality, safety or security.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
