Collision Solutions

Collision Mitigation Systems are Changing the Future

Collision mitigation systems for trucks and larger vehicles are becoming more and more popular as they feature enhanced safety features, register less false activations and are setting the stage for increasing autonomous capabilities.

At Collision Solutions in Baton Rouge, LA, we love to see all of the new technology that is making automotive transportation safer and more convenient for all of us.

These systems are made by three major players-- Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, Wabco and Daimler Trucks of North America — and they're becoming more sophisticated all the time. They've become more available for consumers and now Ryder’s fleet customers use them with great results.

The numbers are impressive as these systems are saving more lives throughout North America. Installing automatic emergency braking systems (ABS) on all new and existing trucks with gross vehicle weights in excess of 10,000 lbs. would reportedly prevent 5,294 ­crashes, 2,753 injuries and 55 fatalities annually, according to a recent study published last year by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and written by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

Volvo Trucks led the way by becoming the first North American manufacturer to make the Bendix Wingman Fusion and integrating it through its Volvo Active Driver Assist system as a factory-built standard on all of its highway models. Ashraf Makki, Volvo's product marketing manager for technology, recently said that the only call he received regarding false positives was from a Volvo dealership, but the issue was easily fixed when the radar was quickly calibrated.

Volvo developed a right-hand blind spot radar system and is incorporating road speed sign recognition that will tell the driver if the truck is traveling more than five mph over the listed speed limit, and at 10 mph over the limit, it will perform a rapid dethrottling function. These latest systems represent a major improvement from earlier generations of this ever-changing technology, experts said.

As these systems go through their development stages, they can run into hiccups along the way. For example, the very first vehicle onboard radar products (VODAR) often sounded a false alarm by bouncing off bridges and other objects. Bendix offers a system that is called Wingman Advanced, which contains radar with adaptive cruise control and braking capabilities. The Wingman Fusion system features a camera that works with the radar that enables it to apply approximately 65% of the available braking power and subsequently pulsing air back to the truck's trailer. Because it can determine the type of the obstruction earlier, it can cut down the speed at overall impact by 35 mph, as opposed to 25 mph with the Wingman Advanced system while reducing false activations.

Trucks are safer now and fleets are embracing these systems more proactively to cut down on accidents and the resulting fatalities. Commercial trucks will be the very first autonomous vehicles on our roads and highways with new and rapidly evolving collision mitigation systems leading the way.

 Collision Solutions, 1334 Florida St Bldg B, Baton Rouge, LA 70802 

Sources: NHTSA and AOL News