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

  • September 4, 2018
    Irdeto security expert: ‘Think maliciously to beat hackers’
    Increased connectivity in transportation is a potential goldmine for hackers. To stop them, Stacy Janes at Irdeto says it’s important to think ‘maliciously’. Adam Hill talks to him about ITS’s weak points – and why turning up car radios could be enough to bring auto manufacturers to their knees
  • January 19, 2012
    ITS industry needs more effort to get to the future
    Eric Sampson, visiting professor at Newcastle University and City University London and ambassador for ITS-UK, provides a retrospective on the last couple of decades and takes a look at what the ITS industry still needs to do to get to where it needs to be
  • March 2, 2021
    DSRC? ‘It’s become a faith-based thing’
    The US FCC’s decision on 5.9GHz led to Applied Information offering DSRC buybacks to DoTs. Bryan Mulligan tells Adam Hill that we now just need to get on and roll out CV technology...
  • February 2, 2012
    Financing the US road infrastructure – road user charging?
    In the US, the National Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission's report to Congress will state that a national, distance-based charging is the only long-term solution to the country's infrastructure financing problems. The Commission's Chair, Rob Atkinson, talks to ITS International