Fully autonomous cars might never be allowed on many public roads, according to a top BMW Executive. Speaking at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Summit, BMW’s special representative to the UK, Ian Robertson suggested that in the future cars will be highly intelligent but might never become truly self driving in all conditions and on all roads.  

BMW has a fleet of some 40 autonomous vehicles testing on public roads with each completing 1000km journeys on a routine basis. However, Robertson has revealed that engineers still have to intervene on many trips.

He commented, “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. Or perhaps they’d essentially ‘rope off’ parts of cities to allow autonomous cars into controlled areas, where the consequences for pedestrians are controlled.”

Robertson has previously suggested that he could never envisage a scenario where BMW would make a car without a steering wheel, as he believes the driver would always want the option to be in control.