With immediate effect customers in 24 EU 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. 

Building on its Sideguard Assist system released in 2016, the new Active Sideguard Assist (ASGA) will be available from June 2021. ASGA can not only warn the driver of moving pedestrians or cyclists on the co-driver’s side, but also initiate an automated braking manoeuvre at turning speeds of up to 20 kmph, bringing the vehicle to a standstill should the driver not respond to the warning tones. The system 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.

Active Drive Assist – the system which in 2018 made the new Actros the world’s first series truck to be capable of partially automated driving is also entering a new generation. ADA 2 is capable of initiating an emergency stop if it recognises that the driver has not been actively involved in the driving process for a longer period of time, e.g. due to health problems. If the truck comes to a standstill, the system can automatically engage the new electronic parking brake. In addition, the doors are unlocked so that paramedics and other first responders can directly reach the driver in case of a medical emergency.

Active Sideguard Assist’s automatic braking intervention and Active Drive Assist 2’s automatic emergency stop are not to be confused with Active Brake Assist 5’s emergency braking function, which works with a combination of radar and camera systems to initiate patrial braking or perform an automatic emergency full-stop braking manoeuvre if a collision is imminent.