Brake Assist Slams On The Binders

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uropean buyers now have the option of equipping a new Mercedes-Benz Actros so that it can “clamp down” the full braking power of tractor and trailer — without any action by the driver, but only in certain emergency situations.

In other words, Mercedes-Benz appears to have traveled beyond collision warning and taken the first concrete step toward a truly automatic panic brake in a production Class 8-type vehicle.

Also in Europe, Volvo AB has created an “integrated safety truck,” featuring adaptive cruise control, stability control, lane departure warning, collision warning and “collision mitigation by braking.” The last item is European terminology for computer-initiated emergency slowing, triggered by radar detection of obstacles ahead.

For the full story, see the November/December 2006 Equipment and Maintenance Update, featured in the Nov. 20 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.