Skip to main content

SAE Level 3 is not 'real autonomy', says Axa Insurance

Autonomy at SAE Level 3 is just very good driver assistance, said David Williams, managing director, underwriting and technical services at Axa Insurance.
By Ben Spencer January 29, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Autonomous self-driving driverless vehicle with radar driving on the road (source: ID 57148848 © Hong Li | Dreamstime.com)

Speaking at 'Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum policy conference Intelligent and autonomous transport in the UK – next steps for innovation, infrastructure and regulation', Williams expressed concerns on “the messages being sent to people on the roads”.

“If you're telling them that level 3 is autonomous; they will do things that they shouldn't and they won't be ready to take back control,” he added.

Williams also emphasised the need to understand the technology better because “pricing will focus more on the vehicle than the individual”.

“If you've got a safer vehicle, we want to offer you a lower price, but all these things are currently fitted as optional extras,” he continued. “When you go onto a price comparison website, we don’t know what's fitted to your vehicle so we need to understand this so we can reward the customer appropriately.”

“Secondly, over the air updates may mean that the vehicle you drive off the forecourt may not have the capability of the vehicle you have in a year's time, so we need to understand that as well,” he concluded.

UTC

Related Content

  • February 18, 2013
    Oxford University develops self-driving car
    Oxford University scientists have developed a self-driving car system that can be installed in existing cars and can cope with snow, rain and other weather conditions. Developed by a team led by Professor Paul Newman at Oxford University, the new system has been installed in a Nissan Leaf electric car and tested on private roads around the university. The car will halt for pedestrians, and could take over the tedious parts of driving such as negotiating traffic jams or regular commutes. The car alerts the
  • February 27, 2013
    The move towards shared telematics platforms
    Is the end for dedicated, in-vehicle telematics systems now in sight? Some seemed to think so at the recent Telematics Munich 2012 conference… Geoff Hadwick reports. Forget smartphone apps – leave that sort of thing to Apple and Google,” Roger Lanctot, associate director of the global automotive practice at consultancy Strategy Analytics told more than 700 delegates in Munich last month at the Telematics Munich 2012 conference. They are a waste of time and money, he said. Forget putting too much data on das
  • January 20, 2021
    Q&A: IBTTA president Mark Compton
    Mark Compton is CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Middletown, PA. IBTTA's Bill Cramer sat down with Mark to learn a bit more about his background and interests
  • March 1, 2021
    CES 2021 | Connecting cities
    Covid-19 forced the Las Vegas Convention Center to close its doors for CES 2021, but the trade show’s online debut suggests the pandemic is helping cities