Car companies such as Mercedes-Benz are moving into newer innovations by developing self-driving cars. Autonomous cars are equipped with a technology that takes the steering wheel and car control away from the driver. This new feature is seen to drastically reduce road accidents, which according to studies, are mostly caused by human error.
Although the tech is very promising, people are concerned that the cars will only protect the occupants, and not be able to distinguish road hazards and other factor causing accidents.
Mercedes-Benz, in a previous statement, mentioned that their cars would maintain the highest possibility of roadworthiness and safety for all road users. Researchers are developing all means possible to avoid dangerous situations and to avoid any high-risk incidents. The company further promised equipment and sensors that will make overall safety a possibility in their autonomous vehicles.
Benz's Drive Pilot is regarded as a level two system, and is on stages of developing more advanced level four and five systems that will make safety and precautionary choices without human intervention. Daimler, Benz's parent company, is working with the best engineers to develop a system that will prioritize the safety of both owner and occupants.
The company has almost finished a $225 million upgrade for a test facility, which covers 1235-acres, and added 300 jobs, all focusing on just autonomous vehicle testing. These workers are sorting through thousands and thousands of real-world data and testing simulations to ensure overall safety in all possible situations.
Christopher von Hugo, Mercedes-Benz manager of driver assistance system and active safety quoted "99 percent of our engineering work is to prevent these situations from happening at all", pertaining to driver and human errors on the road.
