The MAN turn-off assistant
Two awards from Europe´s biggest motor club – ADAC Mobility Prize 2007 and ADAC „Yellow Angel“ 2009
One traffic situation which causes high stress for the driver is a nearside turn. Pedestrians and cyclists can move into the nearside area of the truck when they stop at a road junction directly next to the truck. In that position it is difficult for the driver to see them – and today he has keep an eye on a total of six mirrors and look out of the windows too. Sometimes the truck's swerving to the offside before actually turning off is misinterpreted – even though the driver has used the direction indicator properly. In this way difficult situations arise again and again, and occasionally serious accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists occur too.
 |
 |
|
Download movie - MPG - 12, 2 MB - 00:48 min  |
Download movie MPG - 14 MB - 00:58 |
The MAN turn-off assistant minimises the accident risk
In order to achieve a sustained reduction in the risks of accident during turning off at road junctions, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge has developed its so-called turn-off assistant or Proximity Alert System. This system warns the driver when he may possibly overlook a weak road user, in particular a cyclist, on his nearside.
With the help of sensors the area around the cab is monitored when the truck stops and the distance up to any objects in this area is determined. When objects or persons approach the vehicle from behind on the nearside this information is shown via symbols in the two outside mirrors. An additional acoustic warning is given as the vehicle turns when the steering wheel has reached a certain angle and objects are still in the close range of the two front sensors.
From research to series-production
The turn-off assistant is the result of several years' development work. The tests carried out in real road traffic during the advance development stage yielded extremely positive results, the test drivers finding the system to be great help in potentially critical turn-off situations. MAN Nutzfahrzeuge then presented the turn-off assistant at the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2006 in Hanover to gauge the market acceptance for such a system. The response from the specialist public was extremely positive, and so in 2007 further development of the system up to series-production maturity began. The MAN turn-off assistant will be introduced as a series feature in MAN trucks in the course of next year.
Two awards from ADAC
The German motor club ADAC recognizes the commitment to enhanced road safety. In addition to the Mobility Prize 2007 MAN Nutzfahrzeuge has also won the “Yellow Angel” 2009 for its turn-off assistant. The jury gave 2nd prize to the electronic turn-off assistant for trucks in the “Innovation and environment” category. The prize honours outstanding innovations in traffic safety or environmental protection in road traffic.
Eberhard Hipp, head of pre-development for the MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Group, appeared very pleased about the prize: “Many well-known companies from the automotive industry competed for the “Yellow Angel”. Of course, I am particularly proud that we, as a commercial vehicle manufacturer, were awarded this coveted prize by the largest automobile club in Europe.” The MAN turn-off assistant was selected from more than 50 nominated submissions for the prize.
