There are few things that are quite as boring as having a Mercedes in the stop-and-go traffic in your average traffic jam. Mercedes are designed for the speed of the Autobahn, not creeping behind a minivan in rush hour. And though things like lane centering and adaptive cruise control can help out in certain situations, you still need to pay attention. The good news is that Mercedes is now in the process of testing their SAE level 3 Drive Pilot system in the US—the perfect antidote to rush hour traffic.
Drive Pilot Can Take Care of Rush Hour for You—Sometimes
As we pointed out in 2022 when it was released for use exclusively on the Autobahn in Germany, Drive Pilot is a great system that can take care of driving for you in stop-and-go traffic under certain conditions. You can allow it to pilot the car during slower highway traffic situations, but it will force you back in control in a myriad of situations the system deems to be unsafe. As it was designed for Germany, if the traffic goes any faster than 37 mph, you are back in control. If it rains, if you enter a construction zone or head into a tunnel, the autonomous system puts you back in charge. This is for the safety both you and anyone else on the road.
Since the Drive Pilot systems relies on a number of sensors and cameras both inside and out, it also knows whether or not you are paying attention. If there is a tunnel coming up and the car asks you to regain control, but you continue to remain distracted, it will pull over to the side of the road and engage your hazard lights. German car makers don’t mess around with their safety features.
New for the U.S.—Turquoise Lights Mean Autonomous Driving
Though Drive Pilot is up and running on the Autobahn, it still has a long way to go to be fully available in the US. While readying to enter the testing phase that will be taking place in California and Nevada—both encrusted with extensive highways—Mercedes got permission from each of the state governments to do something a little different with the outside of their Drive Pilot Mercs.
Instead of having the Mercedes that are using the autonomous systems blend in to the rest of the traffic, they have been equipped with turquoise lights on the front lights, rear lights, and outside mirrors. These lights will only be illuminated when the Drive Pilot system is engaged. In addition to alerting other drivers and the authorities that the car is being driven by itself, Mercedes believes that the turquoise lights are “poised to substantially enhance public acceptance of automated driving and contribute to road safety.” Whether you think that autonomous driving is great or not, at least you’ll know whether the guy next to you in a traffic jam that’s watching YouTube videos is an irresponsible driver or reaping the benefits of the Drive Pilot system.
Turquoise Is A New Colored Light for Safety and Awareness
Mercedes chose turquoise specifically because it is a color that is substantially different from all other lights typically found on the road today—whether on the highways themselves or in the average car, whether it is hazard lights, or lights on emergency vehicles. In addition, Mercedes said they chose the color because “its visibility allows reliable and fast detection for other road users.” Since there is no standard—whether national or international—for any type of autonomous driving indication, Mercedes hopes that the turquoise lighting now exclusively legislated for use in California and Nevada will be the early basis for such an international standard.
German Safety Innovation Beginning Right Here In the U.S.
It’s unclear why Mercedes began using the turquoise lights in the U.S. before Germany—maybe more difficulty in passing the legislation in Europe—but it’s exciting to see something that may be a new standard in autonomous driving safety being used first in the U.S. And though time will tell if the turquoise lights do become that new standard, it will still be interesting to see and wonder what the lucky driver is doing inside of their Mercedes instead of just suffering through another traffic jam.
