---
title: "BMW’s Self-Driving Motorcycle Could Help Keep Bikers Safe"
description: "BMW's self-driving motorcycle can start, stop, and navigate all by itself, but the company says creating a fully autonomous vehicle wasn't its intention."
date: "2018-09-12"
modified: "2018-09-12"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/self-driving-motorcycle-bmw"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Self-Driving Vehicles"
tags:
  - "autonomous"
  - "motorcycle"
  - "self driving"
  - "the digest"
---

# BMW’s Self-Driving Motorcycle Could Help Keep Bikers Safe

![BMW's self-driving motorcycle can start, stop, and navigate all by itself, but the company says creating a fully autonomous vehicle wasn't its intention.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/BMW-self-driving-motorcycle.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: BMW\</em\>*

## TWO WHEELS. ZERO DRIVERS.

Self-driving cars and [trucks](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/teslas-semi-prototype-cross-country>) might get all the attention, but they aren't the only vehicles letting AI take the wheel.

On Tuesday September 11, [BMW released](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/a23088458/bmw-motorrad-self-driving-motorcycle/>) a video (below) of its self-driving motorcycle in action. In it, the driverless motorcycle starts its engine and then takes off down a track. It accelerates and makes turns all on its own before returning to a complete stop. The best part: the tech powering the motorcycle could one day keep bikers safer on the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JlYE6nSNJI&feature=youtu.be

## SAFETY FIRST (THEN MAYBE COOLER STUFF)

As BMW engineer Stefan Hans notes in the video, the company never actually set out to create a self-driving motorcycle — it just wanted to figure out ways to improve motorcycle safety for riders the same way lane-keeping and autonomous braking systems help keep car drivers safe. The idea is that autonomous features could pick up the slack if a driver isn't paying enough attention to the road.

Still, it's not hard to imagine motorcycles one day joining the growing fleet of vehicles [making deliveries sans drivers](<https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/06/kroger-will-use-autonomous-vehicles-to-deliver-groceries-this-fall/>). After all, they're lighter than cars, and therefore more fuel efficient. Plus, who wouldn't enjoy the novelty of seeing a bike like the one in the below pull up to drop off their pizza order?

**READ MORE:** [Robots Replace Humans the One Place We Least Expected: Motorcycles](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/a23088458/bmw-motorrad-self-driving-motorcycle/>) \[*Popular Mechanics*\]

***More on futuristic motorcycles: [Kawasaki Is Going Full Knightrider With Their New AI Motorcycle](<https://futurism.com/kawasaki-is-going-full-knightrider-with-their-new-ai-motorcycle>)***

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)