Look, Lyn Woodward’s not driving a car! In fact, no one is driving that car. But there it goes down the highway with Woodward behind the wheel, nervously not watching the road.

Woodward was one of the first journalists invited to test Mercedes’ new Drive Pilot system — the first automated driver assist system approved anywhere in the United States that lets you take your hands off the wheel, your feet off the pedals, and your eyes off the road.

Her assessment? “It was a little scary at first, but I’m totally here for it,” she says. “It’s a little more exciting than it is scary.”

Level What, Now?

The automotive industry uses a framework created by SAE, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, to discuss autonomous driving. It lays out five levels.

Related – Self-Driving Cars: Everything You Need to Know

At Level 1 are simple systems most automakers use today, like smart cruise control that keeps your car a set distance from the car in front of it. At Level 2, several such systems can work together, like a smart cruise control and a lane-centering system. Drivers can sometimes remove their hands from the wheel but not their eyes from the road while using a Level 2 system.

Most technologies advertised today, like Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and GM’s Super Cruise, are Level 2.

Mercedes is the only automaker with an approved Level 3 system — one that lets you take your attention from the task of driving under limited conditions. Only Nevada and California have approved it for use so far. Woodward got the chance to experience it recently in an EQS electric sedan.

Not Available Everywhere, or All the Time

Drive Pilot uses cameras, radar sensors, and LiDar sensors to map its surroundings. “there are redundancies and backups for both steering and braking systems, just to be sure that everything is working as it should be,” Woodward explains.

Woodward explains that it works only on preapproved roads and only under 45 mph. “The system can get the car going up to 80 mph,” but that isn’t approved yet. When it’s ready, it will be installed with an over-the-air update.

Mercedes plans an external lighting system to let other drivers (and passing police) know it’s engaged so that you don’t look negligent not watching the road. And, Woodward explains, you can’t take your eyes far from the road. The system will prompt you to take over and even shut down, pulling the car to the side of the road if its sensors can’t detect your eyes. So you can look at the car’s central touchscreen but not at a book in your lap.

The experience of driving, er, riding with it, she says, was “incredibly smooth,” making steering and speed adjustments subtly.

At first, Drive Pilot will be available only on the EQS and S-Class sedans and will cost $2,500 per year to operate. However, Woodward notes, “Mercedes-Benz is coming out with a subscription-based sales model, so there may be different options in the future.”