MAN has revealed details of the SafeStop Assist system, which is available as an option on model year 2024 coaches including the Neoplan Tourliner offered in the UK.
It detects driver inactivity, and if the driver does not intervene despite acoustic, haptic and visual warnings, will bring the coach safely to a halt. Used as a basis of that is what MAN calls “the sophisticated interaction of several highly developed assistance systems.”
The OEM adds that SafeStop Assist is designed to prevent accidents where drivers cannot control the vehicle because of medical or other reasons. It has been working “intensively” on SafeStop Assist, which is also offered as an MY2024 option on the MAN Lion’s Coach and Lion’s Intercity and the Neoplan Skyliner models that are not available in the UK.
To calculate that the driver can no longer act, SafeStop Assist uses the activity recognition of an active lane guard system as well as functionality of the adaptive cruise control.
Via a sensor in the front of the vehicle and a windscreen camera, the system continually monitors lane keeping along with the distance, position and relative speed of objects ahead. That data is “bundled and evaluated,” says Head of Product Marketing Heinz Kiess.
“In this way, SafeStop Assist can deduce the status of driver activity – and thus also possible inactivity. Thanks to the intelligent interaction of various highly developed systems such as the attention guard, lane guard and emergency brake assistants, we have been able to increase safety for drivers, passengers and other road users enormously.”
If the system detects that the driver is no longer active, it intervenes via a three-stage warning and braking cascade.
To begin, the driver is prompted to retake the steering by a warning symbol and text message as well as a slight steering wheel vibration. If those are not heeded, an acoustic warning is added, and the system also carries out increasingly heavy partial braking.
If the driver still does not react, an emergency stop is initiated and the coach is brought to a halt in its own lane, even if it is winding. The driver can take back control at any time and the emergency stop can be aborted with a “kick-down,” the manufacturer says.
Should the emergency stop be completed, the hazard warning lights are activated, the electric parking brake is applied and the transmission is moved to neutral, all automatically. The doors are unlocked, and the interior lighting is switched on.
Concludes Mr Kiess: “MAN SafeStop Assist increases safety when driving a coach and helps to prevent serious accidents. At the same time, it also enables faster first aid treatment for the driver in the event of a medical emergency – and therefore can be a lifesaver.”
MAN says that it is the only manufacturer to offer such a system as SafeStop Assist on all its respective current coach models.
Further details of the MY2024 Neoplan Tourliner here.
