Amidst the problem that DaimlerChrysler the producer of high quality Mercedes grill is facing it has still been able to obtain tidbits of success which hopefully will inspire the automaker not to give up on the challenges that’s coming its way. Just recently, Dr.–Ing. Jurgen Trost age 48, the developer of Mercedes-Benz Active Brake Assist for commercial vehicles, has been bestowed with the 2007 European Commercial Vehicle Safety award.

The award was given by the technical appraisal organization DEKRA, the German Traffic Safety Council (DVR) and the European Association for Accident Research and Analysis (EVU) to head of the Driver Assistance Systems department at DaimlerChrysler AG for his outstanding contribution to the development of Active Brake Assist which has improved the safeness of commercial vehicles. The award was presented at the 2nd DEKRA Active Safety Symposium in Klettwitz (Brandenburg).

Dr. Trost being the head of the Driver Assistance Systems at DaimlerChrysler together with his team has worldwide responsibility for the creation of safety and assistance functions for heavy commercial vehicles. But the main focus of his work is on the development of electronic architectures for commercial vehicles in which he spearheaded projects such as the “Steer by Wire” and active safety systems.

This is not the first time that the head of DaimlerChrysler’s Drivers Assistance Systems and his colleagues have received such recognitions. It can be remembered that in 2002 they also been nominated for the “German Future Award-The Federal President’s Award for Technology and Innovation” for their development of the emergency braking system for heavy commercial vehicles which is a project that they have been working on under the title of “Protector” at that time.

The 2007 European Commercial Vehicle Safety Award will be the 18th award presented and it is given to honor the outstanding technical innovation or to honor the life’s work of an individual. The recipients of this award are mostly internally renowned experts who have made outstanding contributions to the safety of commercial vehicles. The award given to Dr. Trost was in recognition for the life-saving technology of Mercedes-Benz Active Brake Assist which has received the Yellow Angel award presented by the ADAC.

DaimlerChrysler's Active Brake Assist
The Active Brake Assist embodies the vision of DaimlerChrysler of an “accident-free driving”. With this new safety technology the automaker is hoping that future road accidents are to be avoided.

DaimlerChrysler has also presented what they claim to be the world’s safest truck as part of their “accident-free driving” vision. The truck was presented to both the European Commission in Brussels and to high-ranking representatives from politics as well as to associations and technical appraisal organizations in almost 13 countries. The Mercedes-Benz Safety Truck is equipped with a blend of all available assistance and safety systems with the addition of the Active Brake Assist system which has recently entered a series of production.

The Mercedes-Benz Active Brake Assist has been made available on the market since autumn 2006. And in connection with the Telligent stability control, Telligent proximity cruise control, Telligent lane assist and the driver airbag, it is offered as a particularly favorably priced “Safety Package”. The Active Brake Assists system is based on the proximity cruise control system. It automatically starts emergency braking action whenever the truck is in danger of rear-end collision. And if in case collision is inevitable the impact speed is reduced significantly so that the effects of the accident are far less serious.