Daimler Truck is rolling out new collision-avoidance technology for its Freightliner trucks after demonstrating the systems at the company’s proving grounds in Oregon, where engineers staged simulated crash scenarios to test how the trucks respond when a collision becomes imminent.
Using dummy cars mounted on remote-controlled platforms, engineers recreated situations where a vehicle suddenly cuts across a truck’s path. In one test, a Freightliner Cascadia avoided the dummy car entirely. In another, the truck clipped it after braking. Daimler said the demonstrations took place at speeds between 40 and 55 mph, with the truck’s trailer carrying approximately 30,000 pounds during the tests.
The technology is part of Detroit Assurance, Daimler Truck North America’s suite of driver assistance systems. The centerpiece is Active Brake Assist 6, which uses five radar sensors and a camera to provide roughly 270 degrees of coverage around a truck, including blind spots alongside a standard 53-foot trailer. The system can detect stopped or oddly angled vehicles, such as those involved in an earlier crash, and warn the driver or apply the brakes. It is also designed to recognize pedestrians and cyclists in certain scenarios.
Daimler is adding two new features to that system. Cross Traffic Assist uses radar to detect vehicles crossing a truck’s path at intersections, issuing audible and visual warnings and applying partial or full braking if a collision risk escalates. Active Side Guard Assist 2 extends existing right-turn blind-spot protection to left turns, warning drivers and applying brakes when a vehicle approaches while a truck’s left turn signal is on.
Both upgrades are scheduled to become standard on Freightliner Cascadias beginning with production in January 2027. Active Brake Assist 6 is already standard on the fifth-generation Cascadia.
Daimler is also offering an optional system called Attentive Driver Protection, built on top of its Active Lane Assist 2 lane-centering technology. If a driver fails to respond to escalating warnings while the lane-keeping system is active, the truck can slow itself to a stop while staying centered in its lane and activate its hazard lights. Daimler says the feature does not diagnose medical emergencies or determine why a driver has stopped responding — it reacts only to a lack of response under specific conditions.
Daimler Truck North America says the goal of the upgrades is to give professional drivers additional support in situations where visibility or reaction time is limited. The company cautions that the systems still depend on factors such as road conditions and sensor performance, and that automatic braking cannot guarantee every collision will be avoided.
Many trucks currently on the road do not have this newer technology, and drivers of passenger vehicles are advised to continue giving trucks plenty of room, avoid lingering in blind spots alongside them, and leave sufficient space when passing.
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