General Motors will soon double its Super Cruise road network, a hands-free driver assistance technology, providing customers access to hundreds of thousands of additional miles of roads in the U.S. and Canada.

For new vehicles in the GM portfolio built on the VIP electrical architecture, the expansion will be available later this year, delivered at no additional charge over-the-air starting in 2022 on Super Cruise-equipped models.

Super Cruise currently works on mapped divided highways – interstates. The expansion will enable Super Cruise additional state and federal routes, a combination of undivided and divided highway roads. A few notable routes with large sections coming online with this expansion include:

• The Mother Road – U.S. Route 66

• Pacific Coast Highway – CA Route 1

• Overseas Highway – U.S. Route 1

• Trans-Canada Highway

“We are pursuing what we believe to be the most comprehensive path to autonomy in the industry with responsible deployment of automated driving technology like Super Cruise at the core of what we do.” said Mario Maiorana, GM chief engineer, Super Cruise.

When Super Cruise is engaged, the vehicle’s precision LiDAR map data, real-time cameras, radars and GPS keep the vehicle traveling along the lane path for a hands-free driving experience. These systems work together through “sensor fusion” to create a sensory field around the vehicle that helps keep it centered in the lane while elevating the driver’s comfort and convenience, says the carmaker.

Super Cruise accelerates or brakes the vehicle to maintain a selected following gap from a vehicle ahead, steers to maintain lane position, and on select models when offered, can perform both driver and system-initiated lane changes to pass slower traffic and move from a lane that may be ending, while monitoring the driver’s head position and/or eyes in relation to the road to help ensure driver attention.