Mercedes is the latest automaker to get 'self-driving car' license in California
Mercedes-has received a license from the state of California that allows testing of self-driving car prototypes on public roads. Mercedes joins fellow German automaker Audi as the first two companies to receive the license.
Mercedes-has received a license from the state of California that allows testing of self-driving car prototypes on public roads. Mercedes joins fellow German automaker Audi as the first two companies to receive the license.
Earlier this week we saw Audi become the聽first automaker to receive the new license聽from the state of California to allow testing of autonomous car prototypes on public roads, and now fellow German automaker Mercedes-Benz has announced that it's also received the license. California has allowed limited use of its roads for autonomous car testing in the past, and in 2012 it finally passed a bill that set out聽laws to allow the self-driving cars聽on its roads.
The laws call for proof of insurance or surety bonds for manufacturers testing automated driving research聽cars, and licenses for company-designated operators of those vehicles. The laws also call for surety bond coverage of at least $5 million for each vehicle being used for testing.
Moreover, Mercedes aims to ensure its autonomous car prototypes are safe to be used in normal traffic. The test聽vehicles聽are specially equipped to this end: the driver must recognize clearly when the car is in autonomous driving mode and must be able to override this mode at any time; in addition, the car must be capable of stopping autonomously at any time.
Mercedes has proven to be a leader in the field of autonomous cars, having聽offered vehicles with autonomous driving capability聽for close to a year. However, the new license will help the automaker further advance the technology by allowing testing in one of the world鈥檚 most important car markets. The aim is to develop a car that canhandle all driving situations on its own.
It鈥檚 also important that automakers test the self-driving systems in a variety of conditions, as the difference in road types between countries is vast. While motoring in Germany commonly takes place on narrow roads, the roads in the U.S. are frequently wider and may have more than six or even eight lanes. Traffic lights are installed on the opposite side of the road, there are numerous scenarios for merging, and then there are the 鈥�4-way鈥� stops, where the first to reach the junction is allowed to go first.
鈥淭he knowledge that Mercedes-Benz gains will help to achieve significant strides in the further technological development of autonomous driving," Mercedes R&D chief Thomas Weber said in a statement. 鈥淭hrough our new聽research聽activities we aim to promote the topic specifically in the USA, as the traffic system in the USA differs from the system in Germany in numerous aspects.鈥�