In the near future, when you visit a Mercedes-Benz dealership, the lights on a Mercedes model with the Drive Pilot system will have an extra color added.
With more car manufacturers coming out with autonomous driving systems, it’s not as much of a surprise when you pull up next to a car on the highway, and the driver isn’t doing the driving. But it would be nice to know who or what you are on the road with. Mercedes has a solution to this, and it comes in the color turquoise.
What is Drive Pilot?
The Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot system is an SAE Level 3 automated driving system. As long as certain conditions are met, and the driver keeps their hands on the wheel, they can look away from the road for long periods of time. It’s the very first Level 3 autonomous system available for the road. All the other systems available right now are Level 2, which means the driver needs to pay attention to the road even though the car is doing the driving.
The Drive Pilot system is the first hands-free and eyes-free driving system. It lets the driver look away as long as the Mercedes is on a mapped highway in California or Nevada and traffic needs to be moving below 40 mph.
What Do the Turquoise Lights Do?
If you come up on a Mercedes-Benz and see turquoise taillights, it means that the Drive Pilot system is doing the driving. As more cars gain more autonomy, it’s helpful for other drivers to know that the person behind the wheel may not be looking at the road. But it’s ok, because the Mercedes is doing the driving. Mercedes chose turquoise for markers in the headlights and taillights along with the side mirrors because the color is different from any other lights that drivers may come across while driving.
These colored lights are also a signal to law enforcement that the car is driving autonomously. Right now, Mercedes only has approval to use these lights in Nevada and California. They are still in testing mode.
Drive Pilot Is Coming Soon
The first Mercedes-Benz models equipped with Drive Pilot will land at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in 2024, as long as it’s in California and Nevada. It will be available with the EQS sedan and the S-Class models. This system won’t come standard but will be offered as an extra option for those who want to experience autonomous driving. Again, a long list of conditions must be met in order to activate Drive Pilot, and it can’t be used at night or in the rain yet. The headlights and the windshield wipers must be on the auto setting for it to work.
So, if you come across a Mercedes-Benz in the near future and see turquoise lights, you’ll know that the person sitting in the driver’s seat is not necessarily doing the driving.
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