Daimler first to receive certification for meeting EU regulation on Advanced Emergency Braking Systems with new ABA 3 system

10 October 2012

At the IAA this year, the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) presented Daimler AG with the first certificate of approval to be issued in Europe in relation to the international Regulation on “AEBS – Advanced Emergency Braking Systems”. Daimler’s new Active Brake Assist 3 (ABA 3) system, also known as the emergency braking assistant, is capable of taking independent action to initiate full emergency braking in response to a stationary obstacle.

The certification applies to Mercedes Benz trucks, and more specifically to the new Actros and to the Antos launched at the IAA in 2012.

Mercedes-Benz trucks fitted with the ABA 3 emergency braking system, as now certified, are the only trucks so far that already meet the requirements of AEBS Stage 2, which will not become mandatory in relation to new vehicle registrations until 11/2018.

In 2009 the EU Commission, under its general safety Regulation 661/2009/EC, initiated a series of measures aimed at improving road traffic safety. This prescribes the phased mandatory introduction of three important driver assistance systems with relevance to road safety for all new vehicles throughout Europe:

• In a first step, it makes mandatory the installation of electronic vehicle stability control systems (EVSC), known as ESP or ESC, in all new vehicles of existing models (passenger cars, buses, trucks and trailers) with effect from 1 November 2014.

• A second step makes Lane Departure Warning Systems (LDWS) and Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) mandatory for all new commercial vehicles. This relates to new type approvals granted from 1 November 2013 for buses with more than 9 seats and trucks with a permissible gross vehicle weight of over 3.5 tonnes, and to all newly registered vehicles with effect from 1 November 2015.

• Advanced emergency braking systems are designed to identify automatically an emergency situation and to alert the driver to take appropriate braking or steering action himself in order to prevent an accident or, in the event that the driver does not react, to activate the vehicle's braking system in order to avoid an accident or minimise its consequences.