German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is the first to get official approval for SAE Level 3 autonomous driving in the US, with Nevada taking the lead and California following, most likely soon. The latter was confirmed by the carmaker at CES in Las Vegas last week. It’s the first manufacturer to accomplish this government approval, beating Tesla on its home ground.

In addition, Mercedes said the Automatic Lane Change (ALC) feature would be offered from this year on, allowing the car to overtake other vehicles automatically on highways when using adaptive cruise control. A feature that makes more sense on American highways as cars can choose which lane they use, contrary to Europe, where returning to the right lane is mandatory.

On German highways only

Last year, Mercedes was granted permission by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) to let its customers use the most advanced version of its optional Drive Pilot system in certain areas under well-defined conditions.

Since last year, that has been offered as an option in both the ICE and electric versions of the S-Class. In Germany, that option costs €5,000 on the S-Class and €7 430 on the EQS. It can be used on some stretches of the German Autobahn in dense traffic conditions and with speeds limited to 60 km/h. The same will apply on US highways (40 mph).

Watching a movie

It allows drivers to take their eyes and minds off the traffic and focus on secondary activities, such as communicating with colleagues via In-Car Office, surfing the internet, or relaxing while watching a film.

These infotainment applications are automatically unblocked while the car takes control of the driving. You can’t sleep, though, as the vehicle will make an emergency stop if the driver doesn’t respond within 10 seconds as the car asks to take the wheel.

This is a substantial difference from Level 2 systems, where the driver can release control but still has to monitor the car while it executes the driving. He or she is supposed to take control almost instantly if the situation demands it. Due to a technically sophisticated sensory armor, Level 3 cars can make informed decisions, e.g., overtaking, by themselves.

Next to lidar, radar, ultrasonic sensors, and optical cameras, this requires a highly accurate positioning system as well as a microphone (for picking up sirens from priority vehicles) and a wet sensor (to detect weather).

Audi and Honda

The first limousine with level 3 ability was the current generation of the Audi A8. But after launch, Audi withdrew its most advanced Traffic Jam Pilot due to approval and liability issues (which is handed over to the carmaker in this case). The Honda Legend was the first car worldwide to put level 3 into practice in Japan, although in a limited run.