Why Mercedes-Benz introduces a turquoise light
Autonomous driving
Will you see a Mercedes-Benz with a turquoise light driving by soon? Don’t panic, it’s not an undercover police car. Like many other car brands, Mercedes-Benz is working hard on autonomous driving. They are doing a good job of that, but it also raises an important question: how do you know whether a car is being driven by a human or a computer? Especially for the police, this is useful to know. Because if someone is reading a book behind the wheel, the police need to be able to quickly assess whether they are dealing with an insane driver or just a car in self-driving mode.
Turquoise light
The answer? A turquoise light. When this is on, it means the car is driving itself. Why exactly turquoise? According to Mercedes-Benz, it stands out well and is not confused with red, green or orange – the colors of traffic lights. The light allows police and other drivers to see at a glance that the car is in control. Tests with the turquoise light will run provisionally until July 2028 and will take place not only in Germany, but also in the U.S. states of Nevada and California.
Germany leads the way
Germany is the first European country to allow testing of this technology. Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer with international type approval for Level 3 autonomous driving. At this level, the car can do all the steering itself on the highway, and drivers are allowed to literally take the wheel completely out of their hands. Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot system allows a car to drive completely autonomously up to 95 km/h.