Alexander Thon, being in his second year of training as a professional driver, is often out on the road in our trainee truck. The vehicle – the ultramodern Actros Edition 1 from Mercedes Benz – is wonderfully spacious and equipped with state-of-the-art technology. One thing that is immediately apparent: The truck no longer has large exterior mirrors. It does, however, have cameras that show both the side of the vehicle and the road space on a screen in the driver‘s cab. »The benefit is that the blind spot is almost completely eliminated,« Thon explains. »The camera captures both cyclists and pedestrians. When someone is captured in this space, a warning triangle appears on the screen.« When the space gets tight, an acoustic signal is set off, with a sound that cannot be overheard. Tracking trailers is also important. »The camera shows me the end of the trailer in a curve, thereby making sure I always have a good overview,« he says.

However this is not all: Our trainee also knows that technology is no substitute for an attentive driver. As a driver, you can never rely fully on a warning signal sound being provided by the turn assistant. Robert Hennemann, who is responsible for the operative business of L.I.T. Cargo, also points out: »A turn assistant provides no guarantee.« Drivers and all other road users need to bear this in mind, so caution is always important in traffic. Camera-supported turn assistants have been available on the market as retrofit packages for trucks for quite some time now. Standardised, preinstalled systems have only been in existence for a short time. »These are newer versions, which can also intervene in the braking system and thus do more than merely emitting a warning signal. The system then brakes as well. It‘s like a lane departure warning system for cars,« Hennemann reports.