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 28, 2013
    The cloud - the future of in-car telematics?
    Fiat Chrysler product concept and infotainment director Pierpaolo Tona told the conference that the big car manufacturers need to organise their telematics approach around three key pillars – and the first one of those is people. “OEMs need to understand consumers and their needs better than they understand them themselves,” he commented. The second pillar, suggested Tona, is technology. “Technology is never for the sake of it. Choose the right technology with the right performance to fulfil every consumer’
  • May 26, 2023
    RoadPeace exhibition highlights human cost of collisions
    When Lives Collide is the starkest possible illustration of the importance of road safety. Adam Hill talks to Paul Wenham-Clarke, professor of photography at the Arts University Bournemouth, about the inspiration for this heart-wrenching collection of images and memories
  • August 29, 2024
    Hayden AI & Snapper Services keep their eyes on the road
    Snapper Services CEO Miki Szikszai and Chris Carson, CEO of Hayden AI, tell Adam Hill about synergy and partnership – and how to make use of data once you’ve gathered it
  • August 5, 2022
    Peter Norton: “My fear is that the technology itself is mistaken for the answer”
    Peter Norton, author of Autonorama, tells Adam Hill why automakers kept the consumer dissatisfied, why Futurama got such a hold on the public imagination – and about how active travel can be promoted