Self-driving vehicles could gain a special cyan coloured light to identify when they are in self-driving mode, under a proposed rule from the United States’ (US) federal vehicle safety regulator.
The regulator determined there wasn’t a need for the lights to be mandatory, instead, the cyan lighting would be an optional addition for car makers to include, with the rules setting out universal standards on their appearance and placement.
The lights would activate not only in driverless robotaxis, which are becoming an increasing presence in US cities, but also when personal vehicles are switched to self-driving mode.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the lights let police and other road users know a human isn’t driving without being distracting.
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“The agency believes that the standardisation proposed here may have some safety benefits, as it would reduce confusion for other road users by making clear that cyan lights mean a vehicle is being operated without the expectation that a human occupant is monitoring the roadway and ensuring that ADS marker lamp implementations do not impair the performance of required lighting,” the NHTSA said.
While there is no word on whether cyan lights might be part of future Australian regulations, safety standards often overlap and align across global regions. For example, vehicles crash-tested in Europe can use their Euro NCAP safety rating to avoid being retested by Australia’s ANCAP.
The cyan colour is chosen as it is distinguishable from existing amber, red, white, and blue lighting already used on regular and emergency vehicles.
Regulators and industry have already been researching the lighting, with Mercedes-Benz testing cyan lighting for several years.
Mercedes-Benz first showed off cyan lights in 2023. The lights switch on when the ‘Drive Pilot’ self-driving system is activated. A steady cyan illuminates in the taillights, headlights and on the side mirrors.
MORE: Blue lights to signify Mercedes-Benz cars driving in autonomous mode
Once science fiction, self-driving vehicles are becoming commonplace on roads around the globe.
The Tesla Model Y, which topped Australian monthly sales charts several times this year, can operate in Full Self-Driving (Supervised) mode if owners pay a $149 monthly subscription. Despite the ‘Full Self-Driving’ name, drivers are fully responsible for the vehicle and are required to supervise its driving.
Fully self-driving vehicles without driver supervision are not yet legal in Australia outside of specially-regulated trial programs, with drivers still responsible for the vehicle when in any ‘self-driving’ mode and required to remain in the driver’s seat.
But as Australia inches closer to laws to allow fully self-driving vehicles onto local roads, lobbying from proponents and opponents is heating up.
Waymo, which operates self-driving taxis in a number of US cities, is lobbying Australian Federal politicians to allow its input into new laws, while also pushing for self-driving taxi trials in NSW.
Meanwhile, the Transport Workers Union is campaigning for stringent regulation of the technology, calling for the protection of jobs for human drivers.
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