LUnfortunately, we still read far too often reports of fatal turning accidents between trucks and cyclists. Last week there was another such tragic event in Pulheim near Cologne. A 10-year-old boy died after being hit on his bike by a truck turning right. There is no question that this dying must stop.
The EU has been addressing this and other security issues for some time now, but the wheels of legislation are notoriously slow. The “General Safety Regulation” (GSR) for heavy trucks over 3.5 tons has been in force since January 2020, but it will not be until July 2024 that trucks or buses with more than nine seats will no longer be allowed to be registered without a turning assistant. This regulation has been in effect for new vehicle types since July last year.
Continuous development
Daimler Truck, the market leader in Germany with its Mercedes-Benz brand, welcomes these regulations and places them under the great but still distant goal of accident-free driving. “After all, every accident is one too many,” says Niyazi Üstertuna, Head of Software and Electronics at Daimler Truck.
It is not without pride that he points out the fact that extensive safety systems were installed in the various model series long before they were required by law. The company has been researching this for more than 40 years and testing new assistance systems extensively before they hit the road. Daimler Truck tests continuously, particularly in the development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein as well as in Finland, Spain and Japan or on its own test track in Oregon. More than 60 vehicles are constantly being tested. The kilometers driven to secure the systems in the past three years amounted to around five million.
Daimler sees itself as a pioneer and points out that the new GSR rules only require warnings; active action is not required. Daimler’s technology has been actively involved for a long time, and all systems have now been revised. The active assistants for braking, for the area directly in front of the driver’s cab, for the side, for general driving and traffic sign recognition have been improved. The Daimler truck should stop by itself if the trucker misses the cyclist while turning. Let’s hope so.
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