Experiencing advanced safety technologies from inside a truck and school bus, key legislators, regulators, and advocacy and industry group leaders participated in a demonstration by Bendix May 17 to 18 in Washington, D.C.
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, a North American developer and manufacturer of active safety and braking solutions for commercial vehicles, conducted the learning experience at RFK Stadium as part of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) Legislative Summit and Ride & Drive. More than 200 policymakers and media participated in the Ride & Drive. This year’s proving ground demonstration was the sixth time in recent years – and first with MEMA – that Bendix has provided government and industry leaders an up-close educational look at its technologies.
“In a rapidly evolving landscape for commercial vehicle technologies, we want to help legislators, regulators, and advocacy groups understand where these technologies are today and what they may look like tomorrow,” said Berend Bracht, Bendix president and CEO. “Our demonstration is the best way we know for participants to learn how our advanced technologies can help mitigate accidents and move us closer to the goal we all share – the safest possible roads for everybody.”
During the demo, guests experienced firsthand the performance and effectiveness of Bendix Wingman Fusion, Bendix’s flagship driver assistance system, and E-Park, its Automatic Parking Brake technology in development.
The company demonstrated Wingman Fusion on two Class 8 tractors and E-Park on a school bus. Both technologies can be implemented on a range of commercial vehicles, including tractor-trailers, trucks, motorcoaches, and school buses.
“In addition to enhancing vehicle and highway safety, these foundation technologies are integral in the development of advanced driver assistance technologies and autonomous vehicle technologies for the future,” said Fred Andersky, Bendix director of government and industry affairs. “The more informed that government leaders are about these solutions, the better they can address the complex issues in the commercial vehicle industry. We believe fully in communication and knowledge-sharing – and all the better if it can be from the cab of a big rig or inside a school bus.”
Andersky added that two America’s Road Team captains were on hand as well to offer the perspective of working professional drivers to the Bendix demo participants. America’s Road Team – a program of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) – is a national public outreach program led by a small group of professional truck drivers who share superior driving skills, remarkable safety records, and a strong desire to spread the word about safety on the highway.
Bendix’s industry knowledge and technical support are part of the company’s approach to delivering on areas critical to the success of fleets and owner-operators, including safety, vehicle performance and efficiency, and lower cost of vehicle ownership, all of which strengthen return on investment in equipment and technology.
The Technologies
Bendix Wingman Fusion integrates and advances a proven, road-tested suite of Bendix safety technologies – radar, camera, and the vehicle’s brake system – into a comprehensive driver assistance system. Unlike radar-only systems, Wingman Fusion combines and cross-checks information from multiple sources to deliver enhanced rear-end collision mitigation, alerts when speeding, and braking on stationary vehicles. Bendix Wingman Fusion also helps drivers avoid additional crash situations, including rollovers, loss-of-control, and sideswipe crashes while prioritizing alerts to help reduce driver distraction.
With video, radar, and other sensors working together, and not just in parallel, the system realizes events sooner – alerting the driver and decreasing the vehicle’s speed up to twice as much – to help the driver mitigate potential collisions or lessen their severity. It is built on Bendix ESP (Electronic Stability Program), which helps drivers mitigate rollover and loss-of-control situations. The Wingman Fusion system camera is powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ processor with state-of-the-art-vision algorithms.
Automatic Parking Brake technology is designed to help drivers prevent runaway/rollaway crashes caused by failure to properly set a parking brake, or by accidental brake disengagement, such as by a student on a school bus. It is designed to replace traditional air-brake parking brakes with an electronically controlled parking brake. By adding sensors, such as to the driver’s seat, the system can automatically set the parking brake if the driver leaves the seat without setting the brake. The technology is suitable for school buses, single-unit trucks, and combination vehicles, and can be an effective and efficient tool in helping reduce injuries, fatalities, and property damage caused by runaway/rollaway crashes.
Andersky emphasized that advanced safety technologies from Bendix such as Wingman Fusion are meant to assist, not replace, drivers. “Bendix safety technologies complement safe driving practices and are not intended to enable or encourage aggressive driving. No commercial vehicle safety technology replaces a skilled, alert driver exercising safe driving techniques and proactive, comprehensive driver training. Responsibility for the safe operation of the vehicle remains with the driver at all times,” he said.
