Mercedes Tackles The Problem of Wrong-Way Driving
What’s the Latest Development?
This year’s Mercedes S-Class and E-Class models will come with an active safety system that will alert drivers when they drive into oncoming traffic. “The front-mounted cameras combined with the on-board software are set to recognize “Do Not Enter” and other wrong-way signs, and if the driver enters the [forbidden] roadway, the car will make noise and flash warnings on the dash.” Developers are also working on making the system aware of speed limit and no-passing signs.
What’s the Big Idea?
Wrong-way driving is a serious problem in Germany: “In the last three months, over 25 motorists have died from colliding with a vehicle going the wrong way down a single-direction street, or from drivers veering into oncoming traffic on a two-way road.” The country’s largest automobile club estimates that about seven incidents of wrong-way driving occur every day in a typical year. For now, only Mercedes cars sold in Germany will include the system, but it’s being modified for use in cars sold in other countries, where (presumably) the signs will be different.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com
