[entee]

I think what’s missing is what the software allows. It could be BMW/Merc etc are way more conservative on what the allow the system to do and when they force the driver to take over. In certain contexts Merc is actually willing to assert and stand by a higher level of autonomy than any other manufacturer: (https://www.motortrend.com/news/mercedes-benz-drive-pilot-le...). Taking that at face value it’s possible they can do it and choose not to because they don’t want the liability. Whatever systems are in regular cars are then either borked or deliberately have less hardware.

Tesla is uniquely risk tolerant for better or worse. You also don’t hear about people getting into accidents in a BMW on self driving because they don’t make the same claims and have tons of safeguards.

[wilg]

The Mercedes thing is bullshit.

> Mercedes says that Drive Pilot will only operate during daylight hours at speeds up to 40 mph on “suitable freeway sections and where there is high traffic density.”

> While the system is active, drivers must keep their faces visible to the vehicle’s in-car cameras at all times, but can turn their head to talk to a passenger or play a game on the vehicle’s infotainment screen. Drivers can’t crawl into the back seat to take a nap, for instance. The system will disengage if the driver’s face is obscured or an attempt is made to block access to the in-car cameras. Presumably the system will deactivate itself if it detects the driver is sleeping or operating the car while impaired.

<40 mph, specific freeways only, does not make any kind of lane change or exit autonomously. I think any carmaker with a decent off-the-shelf lane keeping feature could make a liability claim in this scenario. It's not a measure of the technology.

[Mawr]

Maybe any automaker could take liability too, maybe not. It's all just words in the wind until they actually do it. Mercedes put their money where their mouth is and I respect them for it. It's the opposite of bullshit.

[seanmcdirmid]

It’s basically just useful for traffic jams…which isn’t bad idea. Most cars with smart cruise control could easily do something like this. I guess Mercedes is just adding a layer of security (driver’s face must show) and are then enabling it?