By Ulrike Dauer
FRANKFURT--German car maker Daimler AG plans to test
self-driving trucks on German highways later this year, soon after
authorities approve the plans in the coming weeks, management board
member Wolfgang Bernhard told Sunday paper Frankfurt Allgemeine
Sonntagszeitung.
Test drives will start in Baden-Wuerttemberg, where Daimler is
headquartered, Mr. Bernhard says, according to a prereleased
summary of the article Saturday.
Mr. Bernhard expects the group's partly self-driving trucks,
where a computer replaces the driver, to be ready for production in
two to three years, earlier than the self-driving passenger
cars.
The new technology will enhance road safety because 97% of all
accidents are caused by human error, he says.
The new technology won't make drivers completely redundant. A
human being will always be needed to ensure that technical glitches
are avoided, Mr. Bernhard says.
"I can assign driving to the machine, including braking and
accelerating, but I need to supervise it."
Fully autonomously driving vehicles will still take some time to
develop, Mr. Bernhard says.
Many car makers are currently developing partly and fully
self-driving cars. The plans raise safety concerns and liability
issues.
Daimler wants to be at the forefront of that new trend, Mr.
Bernhard says, adding that he's not afraid of new competitors like
Apple Inc., Google Inc. and other technology companies wanting to
participate in that market.
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