Mercedes to Offer Level 3 Autonomous Cars in California

According to Reuters, Mercedes-Benz has become the initial car manufacturer to receive approval from California regulators to sell or lease automobiles equipped with Level 3 (hands-off and eyes-off) autonomous driving technology on designated roads. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has granted permission for the company’s Drive Pilot system, subject to certain conditions and specific road usage. Mercedes-Benz had previously obtained a comparable certification in Nevada.

With Drive Pilot, Mercedes-Benz drivers can take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel and then do other non-driving activities, such as watching videos and sending text messages. If the operating rules are followed, Mercedes (and not the driver) is legally responsible for any accidents that occur.

To do all this, the Drive Pilot system uses sensors installed throughout the vehicle, including visual cameras, LiDAR systems, radar/ultrasound sensors and audio microphones to keep an ear out for approaching emergency vehicles. It can even compare the vehicle’s sensor and GPS data to determine its exact location on the roads.

It is not as advanced as the systems in Waymo and Cruise vehicles, which enable full self-driving without a human driver. At the same time, it is a step forward from Tesla’s so-called Full Self-Driving system, which is actually a Level 2 system and requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention at all times.

Use is limited to heavy traffic during daylight hours below 40 MPH, and drivers must be available to regain control – so you can’t go to sleep in the back seat, for example. To ensure this, the vehicle follows the driver on the in-car display, and you must take control if it’s going faster than 40 MPH, an emergency vehicle appears, it’s raining, or other situations Driver Pilot can’t handle. its own.

The system will be available for the 2024 S-Class and EQS Sedan models, with deliveries scheduled for later this year. ReturnByte was able to test the system at the Mercedes-Benz test track in Germany (and see it in action on LA roads). According to contributor Roberto Baldwin, “while it did what it was supposed to do, we had a hard time turning off our driving brains while behind the wheel.”