Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems announced at the Mid-America Trucking Show Wednesday, March 21, that it is testing its Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system in fleet operations and expects to launch production of the system by early 2008.
Unveiled at MATS last year, the ACC builds on the company’s ESP stability system to maintain following distances and prevent rear-end collisions by rapidly braking the commercial vehicle, dethrottling the engine and applying engine brakes.
Also, Bendix is working with truck makers to integrate controls and readouts into the truck’s dash so that special switchers or externally mounted lights or buzzers are not needed, says Kevin Romanchok, Bendix product line director for electronics.
The combination of adaptive cruise with the ESP stability system gives the truck driver more options for safely avoiding crashes, Bendix says. If the truck is traveling too fast when the vehicle or obstacle in front of it is identified, the driver may elect to swerve to avoid the accident with a greatly reduced likelihood of rollover or jackknifing.
Other features of the ACC system will include following distance alerts, and the option for real-time telematics to allow fleets to improve driver management.
