ESP ensures driving stability and exceptional traction in critical situations

“Historically, safety features on light commercial vehicles have lagged some way behind that found on cars”

Mercedes-Benz is laying claim to offering the safest vans on the UK’s roads as it is the only manufacturer to fit Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) as standard on vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes.

Both Vito and Sprinter, which make up 98% of the marque’s light commercial vehicle sales – Vario is a niche model and does not feature ESP – now come with ESP, ABS brakes, Acceleration Skid Control (ASR), Brake Assist (BAS) and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBV). A company spokesman says: “Safety has always been our top priority at Mercedes-Benz. That’s why we’re the only manufacturer to offer ESP as standard across our entire range. This total safety concept ensures driving stability and exceptional traction in critical situations.”

Historically, safety features on light commercial vehicles have lagged some way behind that found on cars. That, says Mercedes-Benz, is because margins on commercial vehicles are so tight, with the majority of customers not wanting to pay for perceived “luxuries” including safety and environmental features. The spokesman says: “ESP had been an option on both vans and therefore we had left it to customer choice. Take-up was low to very low among customers, but started to gradually increase to a growing band of customers who had switched on to safety as an important aspect of their business operations and were prepared to invest in ESP.”

The company believes it is winning sales because of its standard fitment of ESP – around 19,000 Sprinters and 8,000 Vitos were sold last year – although the company says that educating customers to the benefits of ESP has been “quite a struggle”. While Mercedes-Benz has stolen a march on its major rivals – some van makers continue to offer even ABS brakes only as an option – the German marque believes that, ultimately, the competition will follow its lead. However, Gary Whittam, commercial vehicle director of Ford, the UK’s biggest-selling van manufacturer, says: “We believe that the dynamic safety of vans is essential and so long as that prerequisite is achieved, even a badly laden van will not turn over.

“In the spirit of only asking customers to buy what they need we don’t fit ESP because it is not required on our vans as they are dynamically safe. Our vans are stable and don’t need ESP.” Ford, which was the first manufacturer to fit ABS brakes and driver and passenger airbags as standard on all its vans and the first to fit three-point harnesses as standard on minibuses, says that if its light commercial vehicles required ESP “we would fit it as standard”. However, it should be noted that in relation to cars, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) called earlier this year for motorists to ensure their next vehicle was fitted with ESP or a similar system (RoadSafe: summer 2005).

Mercedes aims to add further safety features

“The need to control skidding in a vehicle more prone to turning over than most passenger cars is an important consideration”

And Roadway, the journal of the Road Haulage Association, says in relation to car manufacturers submitting vehicles for testing by Euro NCAP, while van makers were not required to do so: “If anything, the need to control skidding in a vehicle more prone to turning over than most passenger cars is an important consideration.” Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz commercial division is likely to add further safety features to its vans as they introduce technology first utilised on the brand’s cars.

The spokesman says: “The technology is being developed by our car division and it will be introduced on our vans. For example, infra-red night vision is being introduced on our car ranges and in the future I am sure it will be available on vans. From a cost perspective, it is easier to justify for the commercial vehicle division as it is cheaper than starting research and development at ground level.”

ESP: Faced with slippery road surfaces or if drivers need to brake in a hurry, ESP helps maintain grip in all weathers. If, for example, a wheel starts to spin or is about to skid, sensors recognise the first signs of a potentially dangerous situation and spring into action comparing the vehicle’s intended direction with its actual track. If there is a discrepancy between the driver’s instructions and the vehicle’s reactions, the system takes corrective action either by reducing the engine power or by selective actuation of one or more brakes. ESP combines the functions of the other technologies (see below) to which it also adds a stability aid. EBV: Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBV) and active motor management support the driver by applying specific braking forces to individual wheels in order to stabilise the vehicle. EBV prevents the vehicle under or over-steering in critical situations, noticeably improving both traction and driving stability.

ASR: An urgent delivery, a quick start and an abrupt take off on a wet or loose surface and Acceleration Skid Control prevents the tyres skidding or spinning, ruling out any sideways drift. The brakes are automatically applied to individual wheels and the engine output is reduced, markedly improving both the driving stability and traction. ABS: In critical driving situations, it is often milliseconds that make the difference. The advanced Anti-lock Braking System ensures the vehicle is always responsive – whatever the load. ABS sensors monitor each wheel, sensing whether they start to lock up. If this happens, the system lets go of the brakes in fractions of a second. This drastically shortens the braking distance and maintains the ability to steer at all times.

BAS: Countless studies have shown that in full braking situations, the optimum braking force is not always applied. Even the most experienced drivers apply the brakes too slowly, too quickly or too softly in these situations – resulting in longer braking distances. The Brake Assist System recognises such situations and automatically applies the maximum braking force in a fraction of a second. BAS, with its highly effective brake management, significantly reduces stopping distance.