BMW boss says next-level driver assistance tech could hit legal speed hump

The head of BMW globally believes too much responsibility is being placed on automotive brands and technology providers to develop the next level of advanced driver assistance systems – and they could be held liable when things go wrong.

Speaking to German electric-car publication EFahrer – also reported by BMW Blog – BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said car-makers will be more liable than before in serious injury and fatal crashes as future semi-autonomous technology attempts to enable less reliance on drivers.

“The car is not an iPhone on wheels,” Mr Zipse told EFahrer. 

“A ‘Level 3’ system (semi-autonomous system), whether at 60, 80 or 120 kilometres per hour, which constantly switches off in the tunnel, switches off when it rains, switches off in the dark, switches off in fog – what’s that supposed to mean? No customer buys it. 

“No-one wants to be in the shoes of a manufacturer who misinterprets a traffic situation during the liability phase, for example when control is handed back to the driver. We don’t take the risk.”

The car industry is rolling out various levels of driver-assistance tech dubbed Level One, Level Two, Level Three, Level Four and Level Five, the latter defining a car able to take complete control and the vehicle, technically, not needing a steering wheel.

While reliable Level Five tech is more than a decade away – perhaps even longer – for now most car makers have either Level One driver assistance, while some manufacturers are in the early stages of the rollout of Level Two or Level Three.

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As previously explained in our guide to autonomous cars, ‘Level 3’ advanced driver assistance systems allow the car to take full control of itself on highways, letting the driver take their hands off the steering wheel for brief periods when the technology is active in ideal conditions.

While most countries, including Australia, have approved less-capable ‘Level 2’ autonomous driving systems for use – consisting of technology such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and autonomous emergency braking – a number of car-makers are campaigning for ‘Level 3’ systems to be allowed on public roads globally.

In April 2022, BMW’s new 7 Series flagship sedan was unveiled with a ‘Level 3’ driver assistance system – marketed as ‘Motorway Assistant’.

Set to debut in certain European countries later this year, the advanced driver assistance system will only work at speeds up to 60km/h – and will require the driver to take over should it encounter a scenario it can’t handle, providing the human a brief warning.

The German government granted approval for Level 3 autonomy in December 2021, resulting in Mercedes-Benz offering its 'Drive Pilot' autonomous driving technology to its customers in May 2022.

Level 3 driver assistance technology has not yet been approved for use on Australian roads, however a modified Mercedes-Benz S-Class with extra lidar and radar sensors was spied several times near Sydney in early 2022. The car-maker later confirmed it was being used for a range of international trials.

In June 2022, a draft amendment proposal submitted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) suggested autonomous cars should be allowed to drive at speeds of up to 130km/h, more than double the existing 60km/h limit.

In October 2022, a study conducted by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) claimed motorists do not understand the limitations of driver assistance systems, leading to a higher risk of crashes on the road.

As previously reported, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration noted 392 crashes between July 2021 to June 2022 which involved vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems – six of which were fatal.