Mercedes self-driving tech with radar, lidar approved in Nevada

Mercedes has received approval for its Level 3 automated assisted driving tech in Nevada – the first state in the U.S. to grant approval.

The German automaker announced the news at CES in Las Vegas. In a statement prepared for the media, it confirmed: “Mercedes-Benz has applied for certification in the states of California and Nevada. DMV [The Department of Motor Vehicles] Nevada has approved our application and they are now preparing the certificate of compliance that will be issued within the next two weeks.”

And the company is confident there is more good news on the way, adding it is “optimistic that California will follow soon.”

Nevada’s approval marks a real breakthrough for self-driving functionality in private cars in the U.S. Level 3 is defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers as a car driving itself in certain circumstances, although the human driver must be ready to intervene when necessary.

In Mercedes’ system – which is called Drive Pilot and was approved for use in Germany last year – the car can take control of the driving in various scenarios, including in heavy traffic on certain sections of roadway at speeds of up to 37mph. This means hands-free operation is possible, allowing the driver to perform other tasks.

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