Mercedes-Benz is the world's first automobile manufacturer to receive permits for special exterior marker lights for automated driving in the states of California and Nevada. The exemption permit for California is for testing vehicles and initially limited to two years. The Nevada permit applies to Mercedes-Benz Model Year 2026 production vehicles and will remain valid until a statutory modification is achieved with the state legislature.
Both permits allow Mercedes-Benz to gain important insights into the interaction of automated vehicles and other road users. The inclusion of marker lights is poised to substantially enhance public acceptance of automated driving and contribute to road safety, as the lights clearly visualize the automated driving system's status on the exterior. This also allows traffic law enforcement and police officers to identify the system's status and determine whether drivers are permitted to engage in secondary activities during the conditionally automated journey.
The turquoise marker lights for automated driving are designed in accordance with SAE J3134 Recommended Practice. Additional lights are integrated into the front and rear lights as well as the two outside mirrors of the Mercedes-Benz test vehicles.
Two essential criteria contributed to the turquoise color choice – its visibility allows reliable and fast detection for other road users, and it offers differentiation from existing vehicle lighting and traffic signals such as traffic lights or emergency lighting. As a result, the possibility of confusion with already existing lighting colors may be reduced.
The automated driving marker lights will initially be integrated into testing vehicles in California equipped with DRIVE PILOT, which is the world's first SAE-Level 3 system for conditionally automated driving with internationally valid type approval. DRIVE PILOT received certification in 2021 in Germany and in 2023 in Nevada and California, U.S. where each state requires separate certification. While DRIVE PILOT has already been available for order since 2022 in Germany, the first production vehicles in the U.S. recently made their debut on the freeways of California and Nevada.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
