If you see this Mercedes with flashing lights, you should pay close attention

And we don’t mean “You have to watch your speed because there are police behind you”, because the blue lights on this Mercedes mean something completely different.

We write “blue,” but the lights on this EQE are more of a turquoise color. They have recently been allowed to be used in cars in the US states of California and Nevada.

Mercedes Benz Drive Pilot

Why do you have to be particularly careful when you encounter a Mercedes with turquoise lighting? Because then it is not the driver who has control over the car, but rather over the car itself.

By the way, we are now starting to doubt our logic because perhaps it is safer to have a computer at the wheel than a human because Mercedes’ Drive Pilot is not an autopilot.

Tesla Autopilot

What do we mean by that? That Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Beta assistants don’t exactly have a flawless reputation. Also, they are level 2, not level 3.

Level 2 vs Level 3

Because BMW and Mercedes are currently the only manufacturers with Level 3 systems on the market. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) divides cars into self-driving categories.

Level 0 is without automation. A Level 2 car can take over certain actions from a driver in certain situations, but supervision is always required. Most systems are at this level.

Level 3 goes one step further. The driver must be ready to intervene, but in some situations they may divert their attention from the road. The car then largely drives itself.

Simply on your cell phone

Mercedes is carefully introducing its Level 3 assistant Drive Pilot onto the market. This is in contrast to Tesla, which uses customers as beta testers, potentially endangering other road users.

Mercedes now wants to show pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers that they are dealing with a partially self-driving car. That’s what the turquoise lights are for.

They also have to prevent problems with police officers who, for example, want to punish a Mercedes driver who is talking on his cell phone. He can tell from the lights that the Drive Pilot is switched on.