[takumo]

I think this idea makes some sense, in a mixed-traffic world where some vehicles are autonomous and others are not, some indication that a vehicle is driving autonomously is useful information to everyone around them. Additional situational information, provided it is not overly intrusive or overwhelming is generally beneficial.

As for the colour, clearly Mercedes requested Turquoise for brand reasons. I wonder if there is a better colour to be adopted as a standard? External indicator lights of any kind seem like something that needs to be standardised before we end up with a whole mess of different colours on the roads causing confusion.

[thedougd]

  “The turquoise color for Level 3 driving was chosen by SAE, so other brands beyond just Mercedes will use it for their own cars.”

[dehrmann]

Standardization on this will be good.

[vic-traill]

> some indication that a vehicle is driving autonomously is useful information to everyone around them

I'm genuinely curious - what are you thinking when you say this?

I don't know what I'd do with that information. It shouldn't make me drive differently - e.g. not be aggressive to see if I can invoke reaction(s) in the autonomous system, and I should already be driving w/ due care.

[toast0]

I've driven near Waymo vehicles, which are distinctive. Their behavior is quite a bit from the norm, and I'll make more room for them if they signal a lane change, because they wait for an engraved invitation before coming over. And if behind one, I know they won't use the shoulder to get to an offramp, so I'll need to be more patient, if we're both heading to the same exit on a congested freeway. Etc.

Being able to distinguish between a mercedes driven by a mercedes driver and one driven by a mercedes automation is going to help predict behavior of the car. Of course, one needs to be ready for anything, but when I can predict behavior of other cars, it increases my planning window.

[x86x87]

Make it mandatory to have a "student machine driver" sticker on them.

[jessriedel]

FTFA:

> if you see the teal lights, you know the car is using automated driving, so it’s less likely for other motorists to be shocked and concerned when they see the occupants looking away from the road, plus emergency services have a better understanding of what to do if medical assistance is needed. It will also be super helpful for law enforcement, so cops hopefully won’t pull you over for watching TikToks on your infotainment screen when it’s perfectly allowed by law.

[trimbo]

> I'm genuinely curious - what are you thinking when you say this?

As a pedestrian, I always try to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them. It would be nice to know that the car is doing the driving.

[hunter2_]

It would be nice if autonomous cars could emit a "yielding to pedestrian" light. I suppose it could be an addressable strip around the whole vehicle where only the section closest to the ped actually illuminates, so the ped can know that the car sees them specifically. The equivalent of eye contact with a wave. Otherwise, the ped will be caught in a game of chicken wondering if the apparent yield is for them or for something else that will finish sooner (like a stop sign with no interfering vehicular traffic).

[oooyay]

I do this on my bike in the city. I used to have so many scary incidents until I started doing this. It's funny how differently people treat you when they look you in the eyes.

[rad_gruchalski]

Please don’t walk over congested highways where this system is allowed to be used.

[dylan604]

For the same reason they have the signs that say Student Driver. It lets everyone else know that this car might do something totally unexpected as the car is being controlled by a totally inexperienced operator.

[kevin_thibedeau]

Insurance frauds would target those vehicles.

[tstenner]

"Caution, this car is recording massive amounts of data and will have the entire car makers legal department behind it in case of a crash"

[bhelkey]

Would they? I imagine those cars would be almost guaranteed to record the entire encounter.

[lokar]

I hope that if we do end up with most/many cars recording everything (with several sensors) we will at least get a “report reckless driver” button that will send the recording to highway patrol and be allowed as evidence.

[mavhc]

So the new colour would let you know the car will move in entirely predictable ways based on billions of km driven, unlike the cars driven by crazy humans

[tveita]

I assume you would drive differently if you noticed the driver you were overtaking was looking at their phone and their hands were not on the wheel?

Like the article hints at, a true self driving car lets the driver behave in ways that would normally be reckless and illegal. Best to avoid ambiguity.

[nicoburns]

Human drivers and autonomous systems drive differently. So if you’re trying to predict how the car will behave in order to e.g. anticipate possible hazards (which I think we all do when driving?) then you may wish to take it account whether it’s being autonomously driven or not.

[throw__away7391]

Humans are pretty good at pattern recognition. Any experienced human driver learns to predict the behavior of other drivers using subtle cues. With time I'm sure they'll all learn to use this information in many nuanced ways as well. Self driving cars likely will as well.

[devilbunny]

Sometimes extremely subtle. There was a highway exit I used to take all the time (and pass nearly as often) to get to where I was living. It has two exit-only lanes, both of which begin as onramps. I developed a very good sense for which drivers were going to realize that they were about to miss their exit (and move right) or be forced to exit (and move left). It didn’t last full-strength for much more than a year or so after I moved elsewhere in the same metro area.

I can’t clearly articulate what it was I was seeing, but doing it two or three times a day, I got very good at it.

[jfoster]

It shouldn't make you drive differently, but in the real world human drivers do drive in unsafe ways, so a cue might help. Might also be ignored or not understood, of course.

[ajsnigrutin]

> It shouldn't make me drive differently - e.g. not be aggressive...

It's quite the opposite... if there's a tiny gap between two cars in the other lane, you usually don't squeeze in between them, becaus the rear driver in that lane could be distracted and wont brake and let you in in time, or might intentionally not widen the gap, to net let you squeeze inbetween. With automated cars, you can slowly swerve into the too-narrow gap, and the safety mechanisms on the self-driving car will automatically make room for you :) There are many dangerous maneuvers that agressive drivers can't do now, because there will be a crash if the other drivers don't notice them and brake in time, and the self-driving cars will always notice and make room for the either bad or intentionally agressive driver.

[mikrotikker]

Having an exocage on your vehicle also allows this. Even just good bullbars and some bush rash that shows you are not as worried about scratching your paint. You can pretty much force your way into lanes because your vehicle is immune to damage from other drivers and they don't want damage to their car so they just let you in lmao.

[ajsnigrutin]

I have an old shitty car, if he scratches my side/door/..., I will get it repainted for free by his insurance, while his insurance gets a lot higer for the next few years.

[coffeebeqn]

If they get deadlocked in a intersection or something and can’t make a decision I know I should go around them

[nateb2022]

I hope you'd do so cautiously, as you wouldn't want to hit something that caused it to stop in the first place.

[nateb2022]

Don't know why I'm being downvoted, there was an accident recently near where I live where a motorist hit a pedestrian in a roadway. He stopped his car and pulled into the opposite lane and turned on his flashers to prevent traffic from running over the guy who was lying in the road. An autonomous vehicle stopped, seeing the car in its lane, but a driver behind it pulled out and passed the vehicle unaware of the pedestrian, running over the injured guy who subsequently died from his injuries.

[flutas]

My understanding is the actual goal of the indicators is more for police than other drivers.

I.E. If you're watching a TV show on the center screen it could be illegal if you don't have the system (not like that stops anyone today anyways -_-).

[unethical_ban]

That is literally half the content of the article. Explaining the answer to the question you're asking.

[LASR]

If someone is watching a movie when driving, yeah I would probably want to know before I call the cops.