Autonomous cars and pregnancy – a new rule

Launching in Australia this week, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is like a human in a lot of ways, says head of active safety, validation and testing at Mercedes-Benz R&D, Jochen Haab.

The autonomous vehicle expert, an engineer by trade, says the new $90,000 Benz has a brain in the boot to think about things, and plenty of sensors, like human eyes and ears, dotted around its body.

Unlike a human, however, it cannot get pregnant.

Haab said there's a clear distinction between an autonomous car and what's available today – which are absolutely, certainly, without a doubt not autonomous.

"Do me a favour, talk about "partially automated" functions. Not "partially autonomous" functions. Autonomous means: by itself, completely without interaction.

"It's something like pregnancy. You're either pregnant or not, and a car is either autonomous or not.

"You cannot be partially pregnant and a car cannot be partially autonomous," he declared.

The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is probably the closest thing to an autonomous vehicle on the road today but Haab, who was in Australia recently to talk about the advanced features of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class, says that legislators and car companies will have to tread carefully so as not to confuse users of the emerging 'automated' technology.

As previously reported, Haab believes that 100 per cent autonomous cars – you know, "Look mum, making a wicker basket" cars – are still decades away, and that even then the road toll will never be zero as a result.

The autonomous car expert also said car owners would need to understand the fundamentals of what automated driving systems are capable of… and more importantly when they're turned on and off.

"The main thing is we have to make clear the driver is always aware of what the car and cannot do. We should avoid mode confusion under all circumstances."

He said the car "has to actively warn you" if it's not in automated mode, to get the driver's attention and say "Hey, you're in charge again". Because if there's any mix-up, where a driver thinks a semi-automated system is active when in fact it's not, the result could be deadly.

"If there's any mode confusion you would think you're driving autonomously but you're only partially automated, that would be dangerous. So there must be a very clear warning," he said.

As more and more cars offer "partially automated" systems, such as the ability of the new E-Class to steer, brake and accelerate itself for longer and longer periods of time and with more precision, Haab reckons we need to tread carefully and ensure that the driver knows he or she is still essentially in control of a two-tonne lump of metal travelling at very high speeds.

"Anything going towards partially automated or autonomous is an offer," he says. "You're still sitting there and the next step we'll take with future cars is [still with] a human behind the wheel, and you have the option of turning on automated driver features."

The advent of autonomous vehicles could have a massively positive impact on humanity, freeing up time, reducing CO2 emissions and most importantly improving safety and significantly reducing road deaths and trauma.

But please, let's get the terminology right, OK?