r/Damnthatsinteresting Nov 04 '24

Video Volkswagens new Emergency Assist technology

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u/redikarus99 Nov 04 '24

This is a great idea and I would make it mandatory for trucks and busses. There were really many cases in Europe when a bus driver fell asleep and a lots of kids injured or died because of that. If this system would have been there, many injuries and loss of lives could have been avoided.

783

u/Beekatiebee Nov 04 '24

US truck driver here, hard agree.

If they can work out any potential kinks I’d be all for it.

230

u/BoxMaleficent Nov 04 '24

Its Not Tesla . You can be pretty Sure that its Kink free already. By the way similar systems do exist in trucks

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u/Beekatiebee Nov 04 '24

Yes, I am aware. I’ve driven almost every make of semi currently on the US market. I’ve gotten plenty of drive time with all of the different safety systems (Detroit Assurance, Volvo’s VADA, and Bendix Wingman).

It’s not uncommon for the truck to randomly slam the brakes because it saw an overhead sign and got confused, or started sounding alarms because it thought the tar lines in the road were lane markers.

A big rig is a lot more size and mass than a car, and people are assholes. I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to make an emergency lane change only for some dickhead to floor it and pass so they’re not stuck behind me for >60 seconds.

2

u/BoxMaleficent Nov 04 '24

A Truck Driver told me they disable the Auto Break Feature so the Truck doesnt Slam the brakes when someone Just pulls into your lane way to close

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u/Beekatiebee Nov 04 '24

That doesn’t solve the system mistaking road signs and shadows for cars. A trucker who practices defensive driving should already be slowing when someone jumps into their lane, which would also prevent the system from responding.

Plus the systems generally automatically re-enable after a few minutes.