“Max Eighty” Brochure Complements the Initiative “Wide Awake at 80 km/h”

Mercedes-Benz Trucks supports the initiative “Wide Awake at 80 km/h”. This initiative advocates for the safety of truck drivers. The focus is on raising awareness about accident hotspots on the highways. Most collisions occur at the end of traffic jams and in front of construction sites. Due to high traffic volumes, congestion frequently occurs in these areas. Drowsy driving, health issues, and distractions such as eating and drinking at the wheel or using a smartphone are significant causes of accidents.

(Stuttgart/Wörth) “In 2021, around 70 people died in Germany in accidents involving commercial vehicles on highways at the end of traffic jams. A sad record,” explains former traffic police officer and co-founder of “Wide Awake at 80 km/h” e.V., Dieter Schäfer. He is even more pleased to have gained a strong supporter in Mercedes-Benz Trucks. All new vehicles picked up at the Wörth plant come with the initiative’s informational brochure. The material is also used in Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ Truck Training. In it, the comic character Max Eighty explains ten simple rules on how to avoid rear-end collisions.

Safety of Great Importance

The first truck with “co-driver” Max Eighty, a Mercedes-Benz Actros L, was recently picked up by entrepreneur Michael Effinger, managing director of the Effinger logistics company from Brigachtal, together with driver Thomas Mahlich. “Safety is our top priority. I always order all trucks with the best available safety systems,” says company chief Effinger. “The many traffic jams on the highways pose a great danger. The brochure is very well made and explains the risks very clearly,” explains Effinger. Driver Thomas Mahlich, who has been behind the wheel for 32 years, agrees: “The brochure is a great thing! The rules are easy to understand. All colleagues should take them to heart.” However, he often experiences that too little distance is maintained in daily traffic. “This behavior does not provide any time advantage; it only increases the risk of not being able to stop in time at the end of a traffic jam,” he argues. Thomas Mahlich is convinced of the assistance systems in his Actros L and is pleased that his boss invests in safety. “That’s good because traffic on the highway is getting denser. The Active Brake Assist 5 works flawlessly for me and effectively protects against accidents at the end of traffic jams.”

Reliable Emergency Brake Assistant for the Future

With the fifth-generation emergency brake assistant (ABA 5), Mercedes-Benz Trucks once again proves to be a pioneer in traffic safety. Since January 2020, Mercedes-Benz Trucks has been equipping all new Actros vehicles as standard with the ABA 5. The system is already prepared for the upcoming legal requirements for emergency brake assistants, which will apply to newly developed vehicle types from 2025 and to all newly registered trucks from 2028, according to regulation (UN) No. 131-02. Accordingly, emergency brake assistants must be able to prevent an accident from a speed of up to 70 km/h with moving and stationary vehicles. The ABA 5 is already capable of doing this. According to the new regulations, emergency brake assistants must also respond to pedestrians for the first time and be able to prevent accidents in typical situations at speeds of up to 20 km/h.

The ABA 5 operates with a combination of radar and camera systems. If the system detects the risk of a collision with a vehicle ahead, a stationary obstacle, or a crossing, oncoming, or suddenly stopping person in its own lane, an optical and acoustic warning is first issued to the driver. If the driver does not respond adequately, the system can initiate a partial braking in a second step. If a collision is still imminent, the ABA 5 can execute an automated full brake – on moving persons at vehicle speeds of up to 50 km/h.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks aims to support the driver as effectively as possible within the system limits when operating the vehicle with all assistance systems. However, the driver remains fully responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle at all times, as legally mandated.

Photo: © Daimler Truck / Caption: Truck driver Thomas Mahlich is pleased with the brochure of the initiative “Wide Awake at 80 km/h”