Mercedes-Benz has achieved watershed approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The German automaker will now be able to sell Level 3 autonomous vehicles to the state’s residents., as this is the first time that an advanced driver assistance system that does not require constant driver engagement has been approved for sale in America’s biggest automotive market. in that drivers can legally take both their hands and eyes off the road while the vehicle is in motion.
There are still limitations on the system, though. In any Level 3 autonomous vehicle, the driver must always be able to take over control of the car, so they can’t fall asleep at the wheel. The California DMV has also introduced its own limitations, reports. That includes the system only being available in daylight hours, at speeds not exceeding 40 mph , and only on certain highways. So it could help during your commute, but likely won’t be a replacement for a red eye flight.
“Mercedes-Benz DRIVE PILOT is the world’s only SAE Level 3 system with internationally valid type approval,” said Markus Schafer, chief technology officer at Mercedes. ” It builds on a very robust foundation, setting new industry standards. DRIVE PILOT uses a highly sophisticated vehicle architecture based on redundancy with a multitude of sensors enabling comfortable and safe conditionally automated driving.