Daria Ruginis, intern at Nordwest-Zeitung, and Marvin Möhlmann, trainee at the L.I.T. Group, stand in the blind spot of our truck.
Alexander Thon, who was in his second year of training as a professional driver at the time of the visit, often travelled with our trainee truck The vehicle – the ultra-modern Actros Edition 1 from Mercedes Benz – is beautifully spacious and equipped with the latest technology. What is immediately noticeable is that the lorry no longer has large exterior mirrors. Instead, it has cameras that show the side of the vehicle and the road ahead on a screen in the cab. “The advantage is that this virtually eliminates the blind spot,” explains Thon. “The camera detects cyclists and pedestrians. A warning triangle appears on the screen if there is someone there.” If the situation becomes tight, an acoustic signal sounds that cannot be ignored. Trailer tracking is also important. “The camera shows me the end of the trailer in a bend, so I always have an overview,” he says.
But our trainee also knows that technology is no substitute for an attentive driver. Drivers cannot rely unconditionally on the turning assistant to sound a warning signal. Robert Hennemann, who is responsible for the operational business of L.I.T. Cargo points out: “A turning assistant is no guarantee.” Drivers and all other road users must bear this in mind, so caution is always important in traffic. Camera-based turning assistants have been available for lorries as retrofit packages for some time. Systems that are fitted as standard have only recently become available. “These are newer versions that can also intervene in the braking system and don’t just emit a warning signal. The system then also brakes. You have to think of it like a lane departure warning system in a car,” reports Hennemann.
From 2020, all new registrations in our country will be equipped with such a system, says Hennemann. From 2022, turning assist systems will be mandatory for buses and lorries in new vehicle types throughout the EU. From 2024, all new vehicles will have to be equipped with them. We do not want to retrofit older vehicles, as Hennemann explains: “We have looked into it, but the technology was not yet convincing and the proportion of kilometres driven on motorways is very high for us at 97/98 percent. The cases in which a turn-off assistance system is used sensibly are therefore still very few for us at the moment.” Only the trainee truck is currently equipped to such an extent. Our trainee professional driver is looking forward to learning with such a modern truck. The most striking external feature of the ultra-modern equipment is certainly that the trainee truck no longer has large exterior mirrors, but instead has cameras that show the side of the vehicle and the road ahead on a screen in the cab. Alexander Thon’s enthusiasm was further boosted by the fact that we asked our trainees to choose their favourite design for the vehicle and contribute their ideas. Thanks to their creative input, the trainee truck is a real eye-catcher: not only is it emblazoned with our tile pattern in the typical L.I.T. colours, but also our training motto: “Are you lit?”
Alexander Thon,
Trainee professional driver
Six of our junior employees finally picked up the new apprentice truck in person at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth, where they received extensive instruction in the technology. They now take care of the vehicle, the transports carried out with it and the scheduling entirely on their own. The fact that this gives him direct responsibility is a big plus for Thon during his training. For him, being a professional truck driver is a dream job. “I applied, looked at everything, there are state-of-the-art vehicles here,” he says. “The work at L.I.T. is varied. I compared which haulage companies there are and this is the best training company for me.”
Alexander Thon, who was in his second year of training as a professional driver at the time of the visit, often travelled with our trainee truck The vehicle – the ultra-modern Actros Edition 1 from Mercedes Benz – is beautifully spacious and equipped with the latest technology. What is immediately noticeable is that the lorry no longer has large exterior mirrors. Instead, it has cameras that show the side of the vehicle and the road ahead on a screen in the cab. “The advantage is that this virtually eliminates the blind spot,” explains Thon. “The camera detects cyclists and pedestrians. A warning triangle appears on the screen if there is someone there.” If the situation becomes tight, an acoustic signal sounds that cannot be ignored. Trailer tracking is also important. “The camera shows me the end of the trailer in a bend, so I always have an overview,” he says.
But our trainee also knows that technology is no substitute for an attentive driver. Drivers cannot rely unconditionally on the turning assistant to sound a warning signal. Robert Hennemann, who is responsible for the operational business of L.I.T. Cargo points out: “A turning assistant is no guarantee.” Drivers and all other road users must bear this in mind, so caution is always important in traffic. Camera-based turning assistants have been available for lorries as a retrofit package for some time. Systems that are fitted as standard have only recently become available. “These are newer versions that can also intervene in the braking system and don’t just emit a warning signal. The system then also brakes. You have to think of it like a lane departure warning system in a car,” reports Hennemann.
From 2020, all new registrations in our country will be equipped with such a system, says Hennemann. From 2022, cornering assist systems for buses and lorries will be mandatory for new vehicle types throughout the EU. From 2024, all new vehicles will have to be equipped with them. We don’t want to retrofit older vehicles, as Hennemann explains: “We looked into it, but the technology was not yet convincing and the proportion of kilometres driven on the motorway is very high for us at 97/98 percent. The cases in which a turn-off assistance system is used sensibly are therefore still very few at the moment.”
Alexander Thon,
Trainee professional driver
At present, only the trainee truck is so extensively equipped. Our budding professional driver is looking forward to learning with such a modern truck. The most striking external feature of the ultra-modern equipment is certainly that the trainee truck no longer has large exterior mirrors, but instead has cameras that show the side of the vehicle and the road on a screen in the cab. Alexander Thon’s enthusiasm was further boosted by the fact that we asked our trainees to choose their favourite design for the vehicle and contribute their ideas. Thanks to their creative input, the trainee truck is a real eye-catcher: not only is it emblazoned with our tile pattern in the typical L.I.T. colours, but also our training motto: “Are you lit?”
Six of our junior employees finally picked up the new apprentice truck in person at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth, where they received extensive instruction in the technology. They now take care of the vehicle, the transports carried out with it and the scheduling entirely on their own. The fact that this gives him direct responsibility is a big plus for Thon during his training. For him, being a professional truck driver is a dream job. “I applied, looked at everything, there are state-of-the-art vehicles here,” he says. “The work at L.I.T. is varied. I compared which haulage companies there are and this is the best training company for me.”
© 2021 L.I.T. AG · Otto-Hahn-Straße 18 · 26919 Brake Data protection | Imprint | Gender regulation | Manage consent
© 2021 L.I.T. AG · Otto-Hahn-Straße 18 · 26919 Brake
Data protection | Imprint | Gender regulation | Manage consent
© 2021 L.I.T. AG
Otto-Hahn-Straße 18 · 26919 Brake
Data protection | Imprint
Gender regulation | Manage consent
