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Mercedes-Benz said today that it has approvals for turquoise-colored automated driving marker lights in 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. Thus a marketing component – styling with lights – is now part of the ongoing debate about the effect of autonomous vehicles on the safety of other road users and pedestrians.
“With the development of automated driving marker lights, Mercedes-Benz is once again setting new industry standards,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer, Development & Purchasing. “The more automated driving vehicles populate the road, the more important communication and interaction between the vehicle and the environment become.”
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Both permits allow Mercedes-Benz to gain insights into the interaction of automated vehicles and other road users, Mercedes said, claiming that they could “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.”
They let traffic law enforcement and police officers identify the system’s status and determine whether drivers are permitted to engage in secondary activities during the conditionally automated journey. Designed in accordance with SAE J3134 Recommended Practice, the turquoise-colored marker lights for automated driving in California are integrated into the front and rear lights as well as the two outside mirrors in 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 significantly.
- In addition, according to the findings of numerous test studies, turquoise is the optimal color for automated driving. Both physiological and psychological factors attest to higher values in almost all areas with turquoise rather than with other colors. Turquoise is also described in the industry-recommend practice SAE J3134 “ADS Marker Lamps” for use to display activation of an automated driving system. The development and approval of the new lighting concept involved collaborative efforts of an interdisciplinary team, consisting of engineers, compliance managers, data protection experts and ethics experts.
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, US where each state requires separate certification. While DRIVE PILOT has been available for order since 2022 in Germany, the first production vehicles in the US recently made their debut on the freeways of California and Nevada.
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About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Mercedes-Benz – Turquoise Autonomous Driving Marker Lights
Click for more.
Mercedes-Benz said today that it has approvals for turquoise-colored automated driving marker lights in 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. Thus a marketing component – styling with lights – is now part of the ongoing debate about the effect of autonomous vehicles on the safety of other road users and pedestrians.
“With the development of automated driving marker lights, Mercedes-Benz is once again setting new industry standards,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer, Development & Purchasing. “The more automated driving vehicles populate the road, the more important communication and interaction between the vehicle and the environment become.”
Click to enlarge.
Both permits allow Mercedes-Benz to gain insights into the interaction of automated vehicles and other road users, Mercedes said, claiming that they could “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.”
They let traffic law enforcement and police officers identify the system’s status and determine whether drivers are permitted to engage in secondary activities during the conditionally automated journey. Designed in accordance with SAE J3134 Recommended Practice, the turquoise-colored marker lights for automated driving in California are integrated into the front and rear lights as well as the two outside mirrors in Mercedes-Benz test vehicles.
Two “essential criteria” contributed to the turquoise color choice:
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, US where each state requires separate certification. While DRIVE PILOT has been available for order since 2022 in Germany, the first production vehicles in the US recently made their debut on the freeways of California and Nevada.
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.