A fatal car accident in Germany involving an autonomous test vehicle “wasn’t self-driving” at the time of the crash, the manufacturer has claimed.
Yesterday the BMW iX car ended up swerving into the opposite lane near the German town of Roemerstein, colliding with two vehicles and causing another collision indirectly, according to police.
The crash resulted in one 33-year-old woman being killed, and nine other people being injured.
Among those hurt were the 43-year-old male driving the BMW, and his 18-month-old baby, who received serious injuries.
While police initially claimed that the crash may have involved a self-driving car, BMW has since confirmed that the car was one of their models, but said it had no self-driving functionality.
Rather, the company said that the vehicle had Level 2 driver assistance systems, which means “the driver always remains responsible,” a BMW spokesperson said according to Reuters.
According to the BMW website, Level 2 is “Partly Automated Driving.” It can “brake automatically, accelerate and, unlike level 1, take over steering.”
“With the remote-controlled parking function, BMW made it possible to pull into tight spots without a driver for the first time,” the site reads.
“In level 2, the driver continues to remain in control of the car and must always pay attention to traffic.”
Reportedly, BMW will remain in contact with authorities to determine what exactly caused the crash and how the incident occurred.
The event comes just a little over a month after the EU announced its plan to approve the sale of fully self-driving vehicles.
EU plans to approve sales of fully self-driving cars. Fantastic move. https://t.co/H8MQf1Uo3y
— Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) July 14, 2022
These vehicles will reportedly be “Level 4.”
“Level 4 is considered to be fully autonomous driving, although a human driver can still request control, and the car still has a cockpit,” the BMW website says.
“In level 4, the car can handle the majority of driving situations independently. The technology in level 4 is developed to the point that a car can handle highly complex urban driving situations, such as the sudden appearance of construction sites, without any driver intervention.
“The driver, however, must remain fit to drive and capable of taking over control if needed, yet the driver would be able to sleep temporarily. If the driver ignores a warning alarm, the car has the authority to move into safe conditions, for example by pulling over.”
The site adds: “While level 4 still requires the presence of a driver, cars won’t need drivers at all in the next, final level of autonomous driving.”