Completely driverless cars might NEVER become a reality because they ‘might be forced to choose whether to cause death’
A top motoring executive has claimed a situation where a vehicle has to choose what to collide with in an avoidable accident "will never be allowed"
COMPLETELY driverless cars may never become a reality because they would have to "choose whether to cause death", according to a top BMW representative.
The motoring executive said the potential for driverless vehicles to be forced to make moral decisions would be too much to allow on public roads.
According to BMW's Ian Robertson spoke to the recent Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Summit about the issues surrounding level five fully autonomous cars.
Robertson said a problem would arise in the instance of an unavoidable accident, where the car would be forced to choose who or what to collide with.
Referring to vehicles which are able to drive without any human intervention, the BMW exec claimed those motors would never be allowed on UK roads.
The BMW representative to the UK said: “Imagine a scenario where the car has to decide between hitting one person or the other — to choose whether to cause this death or that death.
The levels of autonomous driving
Level 1: The first level of autonomy means the driver remains in control of the car the entire time. Steering and acceleration can be controlled by the car. These systems are already on sale and include self-parking and lane assit
Level 2: These require drivers to pay attention to their surroundings and be prepared to "take control of the vehicle in specific situations". Drivers have to keep their hands on the wheel just in case, too. Tesla Autopilot currently displays this level.
Level 3: These cars can make decisions for themselves without the need for driver inputs in certain situations. The Audi A8 can offer this tech - regulation permitting - with the ability to drive itself up to 37mph and goes on sale next year.
Level 4: These are true "driverless cars" that can navigate without any driver help and can independently indicate, brake and steer. These won't be on sale until 2021 at the earliest.
Level 5: The end goal is a car that doesn't need a driver at all - there might not even be pedals or a steering wheel. Google is currently developing an example of this with its Waymo project.
“What’s it going to do? Access the diary of one and ascertain they are terminally ill and so should be hit? I don’t think that situation will ever be allowed.
“If we are working towards a ‘brain off’ scenario, where perhaps we expect travellers to even sit in the back of the car and relax, then that clearly isn’t possible today, despite what some might tell you."
Issues have already been raised about the ability of driverless cars to make crucial safety decisions.
A pedestrian was killed during one of Uber's autonomous trials in March when the car's software failed to make the right decision after identifying an object in the road.
And while manufacturers like Tesla have claimed autonomous cars will actually reduce the chance of having an accident, some are raising concerns over the safety of the tech, with Volvo delaying its trials until 2021.
Robertson also said traffic laws would block the advancement of autonomous driving in the future.
He suggested they may reach a point where fully autonomous cars can drive on straight motorways, but it's unlikely they will be allowed on smaller public roads and in built-up areas.
more news on driverless cars
He said: "In the UK, the government is encouraging autonomous testing — even if some of its fundamentals go against the Highway Code, the fabric of our laws.
“But I believe that in the long term, the regulators will step in and set boundaries about how far we can go. It might be to allow it only on motorways, as they are the most controlled environments.
BMW has tested a number of driverless cars on public roads, but according to Robertson, these aren't without the need for human intervention with the on-board engineer taking control an average of three times each journey.