Second generation Active Brake Assist comes to Mercedes Actros19 July 2010

Mercedes-Benz is introducing its award-winning second-generation Active Brake Assist technology on its heavy-duty Actros trucks.

The first-generation safety system, introduced in 2006, applied emergency brakes automatically if it detected a risk of a head-to-tail collision with a slow-moving obstacle in front of the vehicle.

Now, the radar-controlled Active Brake Assist 2 is also activated if a stationary obstacle is detected in front of the truck – for example a suddenly encountered traffic tailback on a motorway.

In brief detail, it scans an area of one to 200m in the lane ahead of the truck while continuously calculating the distance to a vehicle in front or a stationary obstacle, as well as the difference in speed between the two vehicles.

If, based on the current driving style, an accident is unavoidable, the driver initially receives visual warnings in the form of a red light triangle, an audible alarm and 50% maximum braking power. If the situation gets worse, the system responds applies emergency brakes.

Active Brake Assist 2 will replace the previous system at the turn of the year, and will be premiered in late September at the International Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover.

Active Brake Assist has already been proven on more than 14,000 trucks travelling over three billion kilometres on European roads.

The addition means Mercedes' Actros will have ALB/EBS (anti-lock braking and electronic stability control), acceleration skid control, high-pressure braking, Brake Assist, Lane Assistant, roll control and proximity control.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd

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