Beware of These Mercedes with Blue Headlights!

These turquoise blue headlights allow identification of Mercedes vehicles undergoing testing with automated driving in the United States.

Mercedes is the first car manufacturer in the world to receive permits for special external position lights for automated driving in California and Nevada. The California exemption permit for testing vehicles in California is initially limited to two years. The Nevada permit applies to production vehicles of the 2026 model year and will remain valid until a legislative amendment is made in the state legislature.

Both permits enable Mercedes to gather valuable information on the interaction between automated vehicles and other road users. The inclusion of position lights is about to significantly improve public acceptance of automated driving and contribute to road safety, as the lights make the status of the automated driving system clearly visible from the outside. This also allows road service agents and police officers to identify the system’s status and determine whether drivers are permitted to perform secondary activities during automated trips. These turquoise blue position lights are integrated into the front and rear blocks as well as the two external mirrors of the Mercedes test vehicles.

The automated driving position lights will first be integrated into California test vehicles equipped with DRIVE PILOT, which is the world’s first SAE level 3 system for automated driving. DRIVE PILOT received certification in 2021 in Germany and in 2023 in Nevada and California. It’s worth noting that in the United States, each state requires separate certification. In Germany, DRIVE PILOT has been available to order since 2022, and in the United States, the first series vehicles have recently debuted on the highways of California and Nevada.

The turquoise color meets two essential criteria that contributed to this choice. Its visibility enables reliable and quick detection by other road users, and it distinguishes itself from the lighting of existing vehicles and traffic signals such as traffic lights or emergency lighting. Consequently, the risk of confusion with existing lighting colors can be significantly reduced. Additionally, according to numerous testing studies, turquoise is the optimal color for automated driving. Physiological and psychological factors confirm higher values with turquoise in almost all regions compared to other colors.

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