Drive Pilot : Mercedes Says It Will Take Responsibility When Its Self-Driving S-Class Crashes

Unlike Tesla, Mercedes-Benz says it will take responsibility when its self-driving S-Class crashes on the road.

Last year, Mercedes became the first automaker to get international certification for the self-driving Level 3 system.

The system, the Drive Pilot, available as option on the S-Class, is capable of operating on fully access-controlled highways.

Last year, Mercedes-Benz became the first automaker to get international certification for the self-driving Level 3 system. The system, the Drive Pilot, which the automaker optionally equipped on the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, is capable of operating on fully access-controlled highways.

The Drive Pilot, which uses a plethora of cameras, sensors, radars, powerful processors, and two GPS antennas, will only work in perfect visibility and on pre-approved roads. It is capable of not only alerting the driver to resume driving, but will maintain the vehicle control until they are able to do so.

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But what happens if the Mercedes-Benz S-Class crashes while it drives autonomously?

Unlike Tesla, which advertises its crash prone Level 2 and Level 2+ system (Autopilot) as autonomous, Mercedes will take legal liability for it. This move will allow Mercedes to get more credibility from legislators across the United States.

To reduces chances of crashes, Mercedes has imposed a very cautious limitations on its Drive Pilot system — a 40-mph (64 km/h) speed limitation in the U.S. or 60 km/h (37 mph) on German roads is on the list.

Autogefuhl and Lucas Bolster, engineer from Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, recently took the Mercedes-Benz S-Class the I-10 highway near Los Angeles, California, to prove the capabilities of the Drive Pilot.

When the host, Autogefuhl, asked: “If the car is in the Level 3 mode, will the manufacturer be liable?”

Bolster said : “Yes, the car is the driver, it’s doing the dynamic driving task, and your job is just to remain ready to respond to its request for you to continue driving.”

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