Daimler goes for “Vision Zero”
From July 2024, all trucks, buses and touring coaches newly registered in the EU will have to comply with the regulations of the updated General Safety Regulation (GSR), a series of driver assistance systems to further increase road safety for all parties involved.
Daimler Truck has therefore launched its latest generation of assistance systems, including Active Brake Assist 6, Active Sideguard Assist 2, Front Guard Assist, Active Drive Assist 3 and Traffic Sign Assist.
According to figures from the EU’s CARE database, passenger car occupants, cyclists and pedestrians together accounted for an average of 70% of all traffic fatalities in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles weighing 3.5 tonnes or more – with passenger car occupants, in particular, accounting for almost 50%. Some 12% of traffic fatalities in such accidents were passengers of the respective goods vehicles. Overall, the number of road users killed in these accidents has decreased significantly in recent years.
As of July 2024, systems such as Sideguard Assist, a movingoff warning system, Intelligent Speed Assist, Tyre Pressure Loss Warning System, Reversing Assist with camera or sensors and a warning system in the event of driver fatigue and diminished attention will be required by law, along with a device for the installation of an alcohol-testbased immobiliser.
A highly developed warning system will be mandatory from 2026 if the driver’s concentration decreases. An event data memory will follow in 2029. In addition, an even larger direct field of vision from the driver’s workplace will then have to be ensured.
Daimler Truck has developed a new electronics platform that
enables an even larger view to the front and side through the so-called sensor fusion for merging radar and camera data. It offers 20 times faster data processing, and a total of six installed sensors can now cover an angle of 270 degrees around the vehicle.
Active Brake Assist 6 uses the efficiency of the 270-degree fusion technology. It can now also perform automated maximum full-stop braking from speeds of 60km/h ahead of crossing, oncoming or in-lane road users. Ahead of stationary vehicles, the system can operate at speeds up to 80km/h. ABA 6 also boasts multi-lane monitoring at a distance of up to 250m for even better hazard detection.
The second-generation Active Sideguard Assist (ASGA 2) monitors traffic on the driver’s and front passenger sides. It can alert drivers to potential dangers in two stages up to a speed of 30km/h. Up to a turning speed of 20km/h, the system can also initiate automated braking if the driver has not reacted to an audible and visual warning for the passenger side beforehand.
The third-generation Active Drive Assist (ADA) now offers drivers enhanced support in the longitudinal and lateral guidance of the truck. The emergency steering function is particularly new here; ADA 3 can actively countersteer to prevent leaving the lane and steer the vehicle back into the centre of the lane or into its own lane. If the driver comes too close to a vehicle in front, ADA 3 can brake the truck automatically to the set distance from the vehicle in front.
“However, the boundaries of physics cannot be moved with the systems – even as good as they are. The driver, therefore, remains fully responsible for driving the vehicle safely at all times, as stipulated by law,” says the company.