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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