Autonomous Driving in Germany : Overtaken on the right

“The German Federal Motor Transport Authority has now granted BMW a special permit to offer semi-autonomous driving in the new 5 Series from October.

However, it only works on the motorway and at speeds of up to 130 km/h.

BMW will be the first car manufacturer in Germany to offer a system for semi-automated driving on the Autobahn at speeds between 60 and 130 km/h. BMW has overtaken the competition from Stuttgart on the right, so to speak.

So far, Mercedes has offered a similar system, but it only works up to speeds of 60 km/h, above which it switches itself off.

So you have to be stuck in slow-moving traffic on the Autobahn that doesn't get to go any faster. How often is that the case? So Mercedes semi-autonomous driving is useless.

However, the Mercedes system is level 3, that of BMW only level 2.

  If desired, the new 5 Series can also take control of the distance and speed up to the recommended speed, and the driver can take his hands off the steering wheel, but he must be able to intervene again at any time. This is even monitored with a "smart" attention camera. Lane changes are also possible without the driver having to intervene. It remains to be seen whether the system will prove itself in practice, in the USA and Canada it is already being used in the large 7-series BMW. For Germany, the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Flensburg has now issued a special permit for the installation of the system.

The 5 Series, which will be launched in October at prices starting at 57,750 euros, will be the first BMW to benefit from this technology in Germany.

It's another step on the way to the autonomous car, but it shouldn't be overstated. The complex technology with cameras, ultrasonic and radar sensors will quickly reach its limits in ice and snow, quite apart from the fact that it can and may only be used on motorways.”