It will be interesting to see how driving automation plays out. Humans suck at paying attention to a task when they have nothing to do. Things like radar cruise and lane keep add safety but if the car wants to take over all driving functions, imo the manufacturer needs to take the liability for the operation while engaged as the human is a passenger. The manufacturer needs to look at the entire product including human factors, they can't just pust on blinders and ignore parts of the problem.
A long time ago, SAE defined levels of automation from 1 to 5, with (roughly speaking) 5 being fully automated under all circumstances (the no-steering-wheel scenario), 4 being automated under most circumstances, 3 being a situation where a human needs to supervise and be able to take over at any time, 2 being where a human is expected to be driving but the automation helps under some circumstances. The distance-keeping cruise control and lane-departure warning systems that a lot of cars have, are level 2. Tesla "Autopilot" / "FSD" are level 2 but masquerading as level 3 or 4. Here's the problem, which was probably not considered at the time that SAE defined those levels ... (we've learned a lot since)
Level 3 expects a human driver to take over at any time. The translation to reality is that the automated system will be doing its thing and then suddenly a situation that it can't handle is revealed, and then the operator is expected to complete (at a moment's notice!) an evasive or preventive operation that the automation can't handle. So you're driving along at 130 km/h on the motorway reading a book and something happens, you're a second away from crashing, "BEEP Take over control". Clearly, that doesn't work. Level 3, or masquerading as such, is dangerous, because it expects humans to function in a way that we don't do well (paying studious attention to a task that requires no routine interaction).
Level 4 allows hands-off operation under defined circumstances. So, what happens when you reach the end of the defined circumstances and the operator does not take over as requested? Let's say the system is allowed to operate on motorways but not on smaller roads. What happens when the motorway ends? Let's say it's allowed to operate in clear weather but not in freezing or snowing conditions. What happens when it starts snowing? The system has to be able to handle a failed takeover-request cleanly and safely ... pull over to the breakdown lane and stop, etc. What happens if the end of the allowed circumstances is reached and there is not a safe place to stop? This isn't going to work.
My understanding is that Mercedes now has a traffic-jam-assistance hands-off system approved. It only operates at low speeds (IIRC below 60 km/h) with other traffic around.
