GENEVA: Switzerland has become the latest country to allow self-driving cars with traffic jam assistants, which take over the steering of the vehicle under certain conditions in stop-and-go traffic.
However, in practice, these systems can't be used yet, even if their car is equipped with them, since no car manufacturer has yet applied for approval in Switzerland.
Tesla, Mercedes and BMW are among the manufacturers to offer driving assistants for use in heavy traffic and other limited scenarios. Europe, despite being home to car brands behind self-driving technology, is still behind the US and China in terms of everyday use of self-driving cars.
With the new regulation, it is now also possible in Switzerland to operate driverless vehicles on officially approved routes, as well as automated parking without a driver within approved multi-storey car parks and parking spaces.
The legalisation in Switzerland comes days after Stellantis, the parent company behind major car brands like Opel, Fiat and Peugeot, unveiled a new self-driving system that takes the wheel at speeds up to 60kph in urban areas.
Manufacturers have for years been teasing a revolution in autonomous driving without major progress, but more and more now appear to be eyeing so-called Level 2 autonomy, where the driver hands over steering and acceleration completely to the car but must still constantly monitor the overall system.
Mercedes-Benz's Traffic Jam Assist was among the first to reach Level 3 and take over full responsibility of driving at speeds up to a maximum of 60kph on highways.
Autonomous vehicles generally have a lower risk of accidents than those driven by humans, research has shown.
And yet a February survey in the US suggests trust in so-called robotaxis is still low, with six in 10 drivers reporting being afraid to ride in a self-driving car.
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