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Source: Mercedes-Benz announcement
STUTTGART, Germany – When it comes to increasing vehicle safety, Mercedes-Benz Trucks has always been a pioneer in the industry. The company has invested hundreds of millions of Euros per year in research and development, for assistance systems to provide even greater assistance to drivers in their work and increase safety for all road users. Most recent examples include Active Sideguard Assist with automated braking function and Active Drive Assist 2 with automatic emergency stop function which the company presented to the world last autumn.
Customers in 24 European Union countries and selected non-EU markets can order the new safety assistance systems for a number of Mercedes-Benz trucks for which these systems are available. Production starts in June 2021.
Sideguard Assist from Mercedes-Benz on the market since 2016
Being on the road in a heavy truck in city traffic, sometimes on narrow roads and with confusing intersections is a challenge for many professional drivers. This especially applies to turning maneuvers.
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The driver needs to pay attention to traffic lights, signage as well as oncoming and cross traffic in front and also pedestrians and cyclists to the side.
The problem: vulnerable traffic participants are often unaware that a truck driver may not even be able to see them in certain situations.
In addition, heavy trucks with large wheelbases or trailers often turn off in a way that is not easily understood by other traffic participants: before turning, trucks first drive straight ahead into the intersection, to make allowance for the trail characteristics of the semi-trailer or trailer. A cyclist or pedestrian crossing on the co-driver side of the truck therefore sometimes doesn’t even think that the truck is going to turn off but assumes that it’s going to continue straight on.
In such situations, Sideguard Assist (S1R), developed by Mercedes-Benz Trucks and available as an installed system for many Actros, Arocs and Econic model variants produced since 2016, can intervene in a helpful way.
Sideguard Assist can warn the driver by means of a multi-stage process during a right turn in case the system recognises, for example, a pedestrian or cyclist in the monitoring zone on the co-driver’s side.
New: Active Sideguard Assist with automated braking application
Beginning in June 2021 Sideguard Assist (S1R) will be replaced on the majority of Actros and Arocs models by the new Active Sideguard Assist (S1X) equipped with a further function that could, under certain circumstances, save lives: Active Sideguard Assist (ASGA) can not only warn the driver of moving pedestrians or cyclists on the co-driver’s side, but also initiate an automated braking manuver at turning speeds of up to 20 km/h, bringing the vehicle to a standstill should the driver not respond to the warning tones.
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Active Sideguard Assist recognises the need for this intervention from the angle of the steering wheel and, ideally, prevents any collision. Mercedes-Benz Trucks is the first truck manufacturer in the world to offer such a system with active braking function, thus making its contribution toward further reducing the number of serious injuries or even deaths caused by accidents when vehicles are turning.
To view the entire announcement, click HERE.
