[Auto] How Mercedes-Benz Active Emergency Stop Assist Works

[HiTLeR]

 

It has happened to many of us: You’re driving at night; you’re tired and fighting to keep your eyes open. All of a sudden, you awaken with a jolt as your car lurches onto the rumble strip on the median. That’s where Mercedes-Benz’ Active Emergency Stop Assist comes in.

 

Being able to slow, stop, or mitigate a crash is the impetus behind Mercedes’s technology. Driver drowsiness is a growing concern. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported at the end of 2018 that 1 in 25 adults claimed to have fallen asleep at the wheel in the previous 30 days. But not all drivers who fall asleep at the wheel live to tell the tale.

While plenty of people wake up to the jarring vibration of wheels on the rumble strip, others aren’t so fortunate. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drowsy driving caused an estimated 72,000 crashes. The result is 44,000 injuries and 800 deaths in 2013 alone.

 

Drowsy driving is impaired driving

National Safety Council (NSC) statistics for drowsy driving fatalities are much higher. The organization says there are more than 6,400 each year. The NSC likens driving while tired with driving under the influence of alcohol. It points to research that equates losing two hours of sleep with the effects of drinking three beers. The sleepier you are, the more “intoxicated” you become.

To counter the effects of drowsy or distracted driving, Mercedes-Benz developed Active Emergency Stop Assist. It will stop a vehicle if it detects the driver has stopped paying attention or is not actively piloting the vehicle. This safety net deploys when Active Steering Assist is activated. Active Steering Assist, for its part, helps the driver by following lane markings, other vehicles, and features parallel to the road. It maintains the vehicle’s course with a minimum of effort from the driver. All the driver has to do is pay attention.

 

A car that pays attention to the driver

There’s a lot of talk about fully autonomous cars right now. But it could be a while until government agencies and safety groups work out details surrounding regulating self-driving cars and trucks. In the meantime, a number of manufacturers have developed what could be called semi-autonomous technologies. Among them are Mercedes-Benz’s various driver-assist systems.

Adaptive cruise control is the basic building block. It allows the driver to set the vehicle’s target speed while radar sensors and cameras modulate actual speed relative to the position of the vehicle ahead. More manufacturers – particularly Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Tesla, and Volvo – offer vehicles that can control speed and steering.

 

The Mercedes-Benz version is really an advanced cruise control system. The driver must maintain manual contact with the steering wheel at all times. Attention Assist monitors your driving style to find aberrations. Unexpected steering, braking, and speed modulation inputs indicate drowsy driving. The system alerts the driver that it’s time for a rest.

 

How Active Emergency Stop Assist works

Active Emergency Stop Assist goes several steps further (as long as Active Steering Assist is on). When the driver is no longer interacting with the steering wheel, the system flashes a light and sounds a tone to alert the driver to return his or her hands to the steering wheel. If the driver still doesn’t respond, the system applies the brakes. As it slows, the systems maintains the lane in which the vehicle is already traveling.

 

 

When the vehicle’s speed drops below 37 mph, the system switches on the hazard flashers to alert vehicles traveling behind that a stop is imminent. The car then comes to a complete stop, at which point the parking brake automatically engages and an emergency call goes out. The doors unlock automatically, too, to allow access to first responders should medical attention be necessary.

 

This system certainly covers someone who has fallen asleep at the wheel. But it also greatly improves overall road safety in the event that a driver has a medical emergency in which limited capacity or loss of consciousness pose a threat to the driver and other motorists.

 

Be rested, and ready

Of course, even though Active Emergency Stop Assist is a great aid, it’s best to avoid driving drowsy. No one wants to stop in the middle of a busy highway, even if it’s better than crashing into the guardrail.

 

The CDC says that those most likely to drive drowsy are people who haven’t had enough sleep (obviously). This includes bus and truck drivers, laborers who work long shifts or late shifts, people with untreated sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, and people who use medications that cause drowsiness. The warning signs that someone is too tired to drive include yawning or frequent blinking, difficulty remembering recent road features, missing turns and highway exits, drifting from lane to lane, and straddling lane markings.