FACT BRIEFDid Nevada approve a driver assistance technology that allows drivers to take their eyes off the road under certain conditions?
YES
According to a Jan. 26 press release from Mercedes-Benz Group, Nevada became the first state to approve the automaker’s DRIVE PILOT automation technology, which enables vehicle operators to look away from the road “on suitable freeway sections and where there is high traffic density” at speeds up to 40 mph. Mercedes said the technology “allows the driver to take their mind off the traffic and focus on certain secondary activities.”
The Society of Automotive Engineers provides the industry standard for classification of driver assistance technology. Consisting of six levels, SAE’s Level 3 describes automation that users “need not supervise,” although they are expected to regain control if the system issues a “request to intervene.”
DRIVE PILOT is the first Level 3 automation technology to be confirmed for compliance in the U.S. Previous efforts by Audi and Tesla to win approval for higher levels of driving automation failed to gain regulatory approval.
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Sources
Mercedes-Benz Group Certification for SAE Level 3 system for U.S. market
Society of Automotive Engineers Level 3 description
CNET Audi hangs up hopes for Level 3 partial automation system
Reuters Tesla cars will not be approved as fully self driving this year, Musk says
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