For several years now, it has been possible to completely hand over the steering wheel in a Mercedes-Benz on stretches of motorway in Germany. This so-called level 3 autonomous driving allows the driver to actually do something else while the car continues to drive. For example, you can watch a film. That is a big difference with the many semi-autonomous functions that various other car brands offer, because you still have to pay attention to them. BMW does have something similar in the form of Highway Assistant, although you can only really focus your attention elsewhere in traffic jams. Nicely lean to the right and watch a film. Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot already goes a bit further than that, because it allows you to keep your eyes off the wheel at speeds of up to 60 km/h. In practice, however, that also means that it is actually only useful in slow-moving traffic. Now the German car manufacturer has announced that a major improvement is coming with the help of an OTA update, because it will soon work at speeds of up to 95 km/h. This also makes it possible to simply jog along quietly on the right lane when there is no traffic jam or crowd. As mentioned, this currently only applies to Germany and on predetermined routes. It should be ready at the beginning of 2025. We are still waiting in suspense to see whether such systems will eventually also be approved in the Netherlands.
Source: www.autoweek.nl
