Institution's response to car insurers warning against the use of "autonomous" in car makers marketing

Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Engineering at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said in response to news that car insurers have warned car makers against the use of the word “autonomous” in their marketing:

“The Institution welcomes the suggestion that car manufacturers should be clearer in their descriptions of new automated and assistive driving technologies. It is evident that confusion exists between what a fully autonomous vehicle can do and the capability of those with assistive driving technologies and this confusion could be dangerous. The Institution has provided details of what these emerging technologies mean for drivers and the table shows the different levels of autonomy. Making these distinctions is an important part of communicating the continually changing passenger vehicle environment.  

“In 2016, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in our Case Study on Autonomous and Driverless Cars raised the need to address societal questions before highly and fully automated cars are both accepted and legally able to be positioned on our roads. We highlighted that this will include having the right regulatory framework in place, to which I would now add including a public awareness campaign around the five different levels of driving automation.”

Notes to Editors

• Contact the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Press Office on 020 7973 1261 or email media@imeche.org
• The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established in 1847 and has some of the world’s greatest engineers in its history books. It is one of the fastest growing professional engineering institutions. Headquartered in London, we have operations around the world and over 120,000 members in more than 140 countries working at the heart of the most important and dynamic industries such as the automotive, rail, aerospace, medical, power and construction industries. www.imeche.org.