A pioneering advertorial feature from the New Sprinter

Drivers’ minds may wander, but the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter – the Original Pioneer – has been firmly focussed on innovation, driver safety and fleet efficiency since the day it was launched. One way to keep drivers safe – even if their attention slips for a moment – is the Lane Keeping Assist function available on the New Sprinter.

Lane Keeping Assist offers a solution to a problem which can affect even the most experienced drivers. So trust Mercedes-Benz to have addressed the issue, to help make the New Sprinter the safer choice for your fleet.

Micro-sleeping on the job?
Any driver can be just seconds and centimetres away from an accident, by wandering into another lane or completely off the road, due to a momentary lapse of attention or falling asleep.

U.S. research reveals that 44% of drivers on late-night journeys become dangerously sleepy1. What experts call a “micro-sleep” – lasting anything from a fraction of a second to half a minute – can occur without warning, and the driver is often unaware it has happened. Unless, of course, he or she is one of the unlucky ones whose vehicle, as a result, wandered too far, resulting in an accident.

But even drivers who don’t experience this phenomenon may have drifted out of lane while they tuned their radio, talked to a passenger, or were otherwise distracted.

It’s for all these situations that Lane Keeping Assist on the New Sprinter was developed.

Always alert
Lane Keeping Assist always has its eyes on the road, at speeds from 37mph upwards.

Activated automatically at engine start, the system uses a windscreen-mounted camera to monitor the contrast between the road surface and the lane markings, to determine the vehicle’s position. Alongside other parameters it will then judge whether a  a lane change is taking place and it checks if the turn indicator has been activated, to decide if the manoeuvre is intentional or not.

If not, Lane Keeping Assist uses an acoustic and a visual warning signal in the cab to alert the driver, who can then take corrective action.

The system can be turned off with a push-button on the control panel, at which point a light in the instrument cluster will remind the driver the system is deactivated.

Driving ahead
Lane Keeping Assist, which is available as part of the Driving Assistance or Lane Tracking Packages, helps your drivers to stay driving straight ahead. It’s another example of the innovation to be found in the New Sprinter, and the determination to ensure the Original Pioneer not only stays ahead, but stays safer, more efficient, and a more logical choice for your fleet.

So the New Sprinter remains in lane, and remains a class leader too.

Find out more for your fleet
With many other safety features integrated into the model range , the New Sprinter deserves serious consideration for your fleet. Add in impressive fuel economy, lower whole life costs and higher residual values, and would you seriously consider anything else?

To find out more about how the New Sprinter could fit your fleet and your budget, get in touch with our Fleet Business Centre here.


1 Åkerstedt, T., Hallvig, D., Anund, A., Fors, C., Schwarz, J., &  Kecklund, G. (2013). Having to stop driving at night because of  dangerous sleepiness–awareness, physiology and behaviour.  Journal of sleep research.