> but if an accident did happen then I'm not so sure the researchers or journalist would be at fault.
So the people that purposely tried to cause the accident wouldn't be at fault for the accident if it occurred..?
I find it highly amusing that in your scenario you're using an unpredictable failure as an equal for an intentional act.
A better scenario would be:
I open your car bonnet while you go to the bathroom. I half-cut some cables knowing that they will fail when you knock them a few more times. You come out, get in your car, and drive down the freeway. A few miles later your car stops suddenly in the fast lane, and a big rig crashes into you while you sit there stopped going 70 MpH and you die. According to you I am not, at all, responsible for your death.
Or better yet still:
You just stop on the freeway just for fun/see what would happen. Someone drives into the back of you at 70 MpH and THEY die. According to you, you aren't at all responsible for that.
There's a huge difference between stopping on the highway and decelerating due to lack of engine power. The driver knew what was happening, turned on his hazard lights, and didn't apply the brakes. Slowing down on the highway, although annoying, shouldn't be an unfamiliar or unsafe scenario (ex: construction, traffic backup, etc.)
This would be a completely different story if the researchers applied full force to the brakes or accelerator since those are unexpected (to other drivers), sudden, and difficult to react to behaviours.
Everything else aside, slowing without good reason is likely to be a traffic infraction (in Missouri, a misdemeanor punishable by 1 year in jail!).
It isn't that convoluted to hold the driver responsible for the vehicle, they knew prior to driving into the area with a minimum speed that there was some intent to tamper with it.
So the people that purposely tried to cause the accident wouldn't be at fault for the accident if it occurred..?
I find it highly amusing that in your scenario you're using an unpredictable failure as an equal for an intentional act.
A better scenario would be:
I open your car bonnet while you go to the bathroom. I half-cut some cables knowing that they will fail when you knock them a few more times. You come out, get in your car, and drive down the freeway. A few miles later your car stops suddenly in the fast lane, and a big rig crashes into you while you sit there stopped going 70 MpH and you die. According to you I am not, at all, responsible for your death.
Or better yet still:
You just stop on the freeway just for fun/see what would happen. Someone drives into the back of you at 70 MpH and THEY die. According to you, you aren't at all responsible for that.