[santosha]

The example is illustrative. There is nothing stupid about the original question. Someone else's fault and self-preservation are just convenient escapes in this situation. Suppose instead of a child running in front of the car, it was a large rock. Going straight will kill you. Swerving left will kill a mom and two kids, going right will kill an old trucker. What does your car do?

By the 'fault' logic, it was nobody else's fault that the rock landed in front of you, why should they die so you can live?

Going right and slamming your semi into the mini-Cooper means you live without a scratch, but good luck to the couple in the car. Going left and hitting the other truck there will probably make your truck flip and give you broken bones, but nobody dies. What now?

[sixQuarks]

now, this is a much better worded question. I stand corrected, the question is not stupid. The scenario was not the best one.