Method and apparatus for changing an autonomously travelling motor vehicle to a safe state

A method for placing a motor vehicle operating in an autonomous driving mode in a safe state if a driver of the motor vehicle is not capable of monitoring the autonomous driving mode,

• wherein if it is detected that the driver is not capable of monitoring the autonomous driving mode, the following steps are carried out automatically in sequence:
• a) warning the vehicle driver using warning signals that increase in intensity with time;
• b) warning other road users in a vicinity of the motor vehicle using visual and/or acoustic signals;
• c) braking and/or accelerating the motor vehicle repeatedly with an intensity such that parts of a body of the vehicle driver move perceptively due to inertia, and furthermore so briefly that a current velocity of the motor vehicle changes relatively little;
• and
• d) bringing the motor vehicle to a stationary state by automatic braking and/or keeping the vehicle in the stationary state.