Mercedes Benz and Setra buses and touring coaches: Even safer with new and enhanced assistance systems, optional MirrorCam instead of outside mirrors

• Exemplary safety solutions
• New: Active Brake Assist 6 emergency braking assistant
• New: Preventive Brake Assist 2 for city buses
• New: Sideguard Assist 2 for both sides of the vehicle
• New: Frontguard Assist reduces blind spots
• New: Traffic Sign Assist
• New: MirrorCam instead of outside mirrors optionally available

Safety is a top priority for Daimler Buses: the Mercedes‑Benz Buses and Setra brands from Daimler Buses are already traditionally pioneers of new safety technologies and assistance systems. Almost all of these systems celebrated their premiere in Mercedes‑Benz and Setra buses and touring coaches. What began more than 40 years ago with the premiere of the anti-lock braking system is now leading to a comprehensive range of new and further developed assistance systems. They will be rolled out across all Mercedes‑Benz and Setra model series. Daimler Buses will be showcasing them for the first time at Busworld Europe 2023 in Brussels. The new MirrorCam is a coherent addition to this. The camera system optionally replaces the traditional outside mirrors in all model series of the brands.

Exemplary safety solutions

GSR: with the "General Safety Regulation", the EU aims to significantly improve road safety. As from July 2024, numerous assistance and safety systems will therefore be required for newly registered buses and touring coaches. This includes: blind spot assistants at the sides as well as in front of the vehicle for near-field detection, traffic sign recognition for speed control, attention assistant, tyre pressure monitoring system, reversing monitoring system, a light signal in the event of emergency braking and an interface for an optional alcohol tester (Alcohol Interlock).

The list makes clear that the focus is on accident prevention and the protection of more vulnerable road users. These are the elements that Daimler Buses has been vigorously pushing forward with Mercedes‑Benz and Setra for years.

For Daimler Buses, maximum safety is more than just an obligation, it is an attitude. That is why Daimler Buses is already showcasing the solutions of 2024 at Busworld Europe 2023. And that's not all: Mercedes‑Benz and Setra vehicles not only meet the requirements. With the yet more capable Active Brake Assist 6 assistance system – standard for all touring coaches, optional in the high-floor Mercedes‑Benz Intouro intercity bus – and the likewise enhanced Preventive Brake Assist 2 active braking assistance system for all city and intercity buses in the low-floor segment, Daimler Buses is further extending its lead in assistance systems. Thanks to the 360° camera system (articulated buses: 270° camera system) and the new MirrorCam for all buses and touring coaches, Daimler Buses is making further contributions to even greater safety.

New: Active Brake Assist 6 emergency braking assistant

The new Active Brake Assist 6 (ABA 6) emergency braking assistance system works with a combination of short and long-range radar sensors as well as a camera. The warning cascade in the event of an imminent accident consists of a visual and haptic warning. If the driver fails to react, partial braking is initiated before triggering an emergency braking manoeuvre. Thanks to new sensors, ABA 6 is even more capable than its predecessor system. ABA 6 detects moving or stationary persons and cyclists in front of the vehicle and can independently implement emergency braking. The system response to these more vulnerable road users increases from 50 to 60 km/h.

With ABA 6, accidents can be avoided even more reliably. The system covers the entire speed range of the vehicle and is active in the background.

New: Preventive Brake Assist 2 for city buses

Sudden emergency braking manoeuvres with a city bus in reaction to obstacles might bear the risk of injury for the passengers on board. That's why Daimler Buses relies on the Preventive Brake Assist active braking assistance system for the low-floor buses of the Mercedes‑Benz Citaro, eCitaro and Conecto as well as the Setra MultiClass 500 model series for urban and intercity transport applications. It warns of stationary obstacles as well as pedestrians and cyclists and can initiate partial braking if the driver fails to react.

Daimler Buses is now introducing Preventive Brake Assist 2, the next generation of the world's first active braking assistance system specially developed for regular-service buses, as a further highlight of the development of assistance systems for these vehicles.

Just like Active Brake Assist 6, it utilises a combination of short-range and long-range radar sensors as well as a camera. This allows it to react to stationary and moving objects including pedestrians and cyclists. The system is capable of processing multiple objects simultaneously. Within the system limits, objects beyond the carriageway are identified more reliably and false warnings have been minimised.

The assistance system warns the driver of potential collisions with stationary or moving objects. Warnings are issued visually by means of a red flashing alert on the central display and audibly. It automatically initiates a partial braking manoeuvre at the same time. Like emergency stops with ABA 6, braking action is maintained until either the driver intervenes, the situation is no longer critical or the bus or touring coach comes to a complete standstill. However, the warning cascade and brake intervention are specifically designed for use in regular-service bus operation with the aim of protecting standing passengers. Preventive Brake Assist 2 is another milestone, particularly in the protection of vulnerable road users in the traffic of urban or inter-urban settings.

New: Sideguard Assist 2 for both sides of the vehicle

Turning off in urban traffic is one of the manoeuvres bus and touring coach drivers find most unpleasant: they must simultaneously check ahead and keep an eye on traffic lights, signs, oncoming and crossing traffic as well as pedestrians and cyclists to the sides. What's more, the traffic situation can change in a matter of seconds. Cyclists and pedestrians are also not always aware that bus and touring coach drivers may not be able to see them at all. That's why, since 2018, Daimler Buses has been gradually introducing the world's first turning assistant, Sideguard Assist, as an option in all Mercedes‑Benz and Setra model series. The radar-based system provides information about and warns of pedestrians, cyclists and stationary obstacles when turning right on the door side.

The new Sideguard Assist 2 turning assistant, which is also radar-based, reacts and, thanks to a new sensor concept, warns even more accurately if there is a risk of collision with pedestrians and cyclists. The system is now also used for the driver's side. This makes turning left even safer.

In addition, Sideguard Assist 2 acts as lane change assistant at speeds over 40 km/h. It notifies the driver about an object on the driver's and co-driver's side up to the maximum permissible speed. In critical situations when changing lanes, the system generates a visual and haptic warning. Sideguard Assist 2 thus supports lane changes, for example when overtaking a cyclist or when changing lanes/overtaking on multi-lane roads.

New: Frontguard Assist reduces blind spots

Frontguard Assist is completely new. This system is also radar-based. It detects and warns of obstacles or people directly in front of the vehicle up to a speed of 15 km/h. Sideguard Assist 2 and Frontguard Assist combine to create a complete warning system that warns of obstacles and people at the sides and in front of the vehicle. Together with the standard reversing camera or, even more so, the optional 360° camera system, the driver is provided with a comprehensive warning system for all aspects of his bus.

Depending on the model series, the additional sensors for Frontguard Assist are either mounted in a single unit together with the front fog lamps or integrated separately into the bumper.

New: Traffic Sign Assist

Also new is the intelligent Traffic Sign Assist speed assistant. It compares the current speed of the vehicle with the permissible vehicle speed and warns the driver if the permitted speed is exceeded. The system can cope with the different signage throughout Europe. Traffic Sign Assist can thus reduce the risk of accidents caused by speeding and inattentiveness. It also reduces the risk of fines due to speeding.

Attention Assist and TPM: from optional equipment to standard equipment

Finally, the previously optionally available Tyre Pressure Monitoring system (TPM) now forms part of the standard equipment. TPM prevents tyre damage by displaying any pressure loss. Setting the correct tyre pressure also decreases both wear and fuel consumption.

The standard equipment now also includes Attention Assist (AtAs) as well as an interface for the use of alcohol testers for the driver's workplace. The same applies to the previously optional reversing camera. Depending on the model series, the image is transmitted and displayed on an existing monitor in the cockpit or an additional 7-inch monitor. As an alternative to the reversing camera, operators can also opt for the 360° camera system (articulated buses: 270° camera system).

New: MirrorCam instead of outside mirrors optionally available

More than half a century ago, the Setra 100 model series introduced outside mirrors on tubular frames overhanging the front of the vehicle within the driver's field of vision. The next revolution followed in 1991 with the Setra 300 model series featuring elegant integral mirrors, also lovingly referred to by professionals as "beetle feelers". Now Daimler Buses is taking the next step with the optional MirrorCam: in future, all bus model series from Mercedes‑Benz and Setra, whether city buses, intercity buses or touring coaches, will be optionally available with cameras instead of the conventional outside mirrors. This eye-catching innovation not only changes the appearance of the buses and touring coaches to a body without visible add-on parts – it also has an effect on function, safety and economy.

The advantages are obvious: extended field of vision for the driver through the windows, significantly better visibility to the rear in the dark thanks to residual light amplification. The small surface area of the camera lens is less susceptible to dirt and is better protected against the effects of the weather by being mounted in the camera wing. Compared with conventional mirrors, MirrorCam barely or only slightly protrudes beyond the vehicle edges. This means easier manoeuvring and less damage. Finally, the front surface of the vehicle is reduced, creating less turbulence. This has a positive effect on fuel consumption.

And this is how MirrorCam works: the images from the cameras are transmitted to 15-inch monitors mounted on the inside of the A-pillars. The solution in the Citaro and MultiClass LE low-floor buses is different: as a result of their design featuring driver's cabs surrounded by glazing and inward-swinging doors, the monitors on the door side have been arranged approximately in the centre of the vehicle. Superimposed lines indicate the end of the vehicle and help the driver estimate the speed of approaching vehicles as well as to cut in at the end of an overtaking manoeuvre. The system is activated by engaging the reverse gear or operating the turn signal indicators. An additional camera and a second 7-inch monitor guarantee a view of the front right-hand corner of the vehicle.

The camera is heated. Photodiodes in the monitors analyse the incoming light and individually adjust the brightness of the monitors. The driver can also configure a basic setting. Warnings of the Sideguard Assist turning assistant can optionally be displayed on the monitors.